Fertilizer prices!!

[farmaholic]

I seeded triticale on pea stubble with no fertilizer and my yield was anywhere from 28-35 bu/acre. Seeded at 2/bu / acre and was the cleanest crop I had. I also put some fall rye into pea stubble in September , so we will see how it compares to the summerfallow (GASP!) rye beside it.

I live 20 miles nw of Maple Creek Sask.

G500....tilled summerfallow or chemfallow? There is a difference in my opinion.

[helmsdale]

G500....tilled summerfallow or chemfallow? There is a difference in my opinion.

Tilled summerfallow actually sat idle around here this year... chemfallow basically grew a crop of kochia.

[helmsdale]

$50-$75/mT difference in prices between different retailers here.

Basically:
46-0-0:$570-630
11-52:$760-835
ESN:$670-745
21-0-0-24:$520-525

I'll be increasing nutrient lay down over last year, but this will be the first year I wont be hitting the soil sample targets. Will have to do som math to see what lay down will get me to a reasonable crop without breaking the bank. At current prices, $85-90/ac on fertilizer in a production area that can bless you with 15bu/ac wheat at $5/bu whether you like it or not seems like one hell of a gamble.

[helmsdale]

Fert prices are so out of line it’s actually laughable, then again what isn’t?

Suppliers seem to be counting on the golden goose to keep laying eggs... New fertilizer blending facilities, massive machinery dealership buildings, and chemical sheds going up everywhere.

But then, so are shiny bins, shiny shops, land sales at record highs, and current asking prices 4-5x what they were 10 years ago. Rental agreements for double what they were 3-4 years ago, and even Santa claus rental agreements that establish a floor, and then give away 1/3 above $250-300/ac gross revenue.

Seems things are humming along splendidly.

[Taiga]

I am seeding 800ac to alfalfa for probably 5-6 years, and see how things look from there. Will sell hay for a while from that.

[seldomseen]

I always follow Farm Futures weekly fert review and the price seems to go up and down for southern farmers but here they just pick the highest price they can think of and leave it there all winter.


Fert is one input that always gives a good return on investment. A low yielding wheat crop that is all full of pie-ball won’t pay many bills.

[Guest]

I am seeding 800ac to alfalfa for probably 5-6 years, and see how things look from there. Will sell hay for a while from that.

Seed is cheap , giving $.60/lb here
Too much work involved for that kinda return
Bees will likely hafta be burnt

[Taiga]

Seed is cheap , giving $.60/lb here
Too much work involved for that kinda return
Bees will likely hafta be burnt

Absolutely seed is cheap, good time to put in hay fields, and hay prices have been good recently. Hay spreads out the workload too.

[GDR]

Seed is cheap , giving $.60/lb here
Too much work involved for that kinda return
Bees will likely hafta be burnt

Are those bees any good for honey production or just pollinators?

In central ab, have really never seen alfalfa go to seed until last couple years, drier hotter must be the difference. Remember once as a kid seeing a plant on the side of the road with pods.

[GALAXIE500]

G500....tilled summerfallow or chemfallow? There is a difference in my opinion.

Good morning! My triticale was seeded directly into pea stubble with good old Massey 360 discers. The rye I seeded this fall was with my CIH 7200 hoe drills into standing pea stubble , which is beside worked SMF that was seeded with hoe drills also. Kochia and thistles were everywhere out in my neck of the woods. Quite a few guys ,including me were using cultivators this year. Sorry , but chemical is not always the solution.