Thoughts on Fertilizer

[flea beetle]

Gonna be reasonably wet this spring according to hoarfrosts…if you believe that sort of thing.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Going from experience, no till with all straw returned takes a lot more N, at least initially, since mineralization is reduced, and tie up due to breaking down all the straw. Eventually reach a new plateau.

On the other end of the spectrum, before I started no till, the first thing I would do with new land( which has inevitably been devoid of fertilizer for decades around here), is plow it as deep as possible, turning up all the old broken down sods if it has ever been plowed before, or the ashes and wood pieces, and decayed leaf litter if it hadn't been worked that deep ever since, and burying the existing sod where it won't tie up nitrogen. The yield difference between disced ground (sods still close to the surface breaking down, not much old OM turned up) vs deep plowed is staggering, in favour of the plowed land.

That is a one time trick, as it burns up all that previously stable OM, and not for everyone in the middle of a drought, but could probably do it once when fertilizer prices are uneconomical, if it promises to rain afterwards.

I've been sod seeding new land for the past few years, and applying painful amounts of N to make it work, but if/when I do anymore this spring, I think I might pull the plow back out, it would be cheaper than the additional fertilizer. Of course it might not rain again, like it did in 2015, the last time I plowed in the spring and the canola didn't germinate till mid July...

[WiltonRanch]

Retailers know exactly how much fertilizer is needed. Everybody knows exactly what you use as enough of you have graciously paid to give your all your data, along with accurate yields. So thank you for that. The best thing you can do is absolutely nothing.

1. It hasn't cost nutrien triple the price to make urea.
2. If there are suckers willing to pay for fert at these prices - why not take their money.
3. Everybody knows you can still grow an ok crop with 30 to 40 lbs of N - except farmers it seems.
4. It's gonna be a wild ride, it is the 1 year in 10 when buying fert in the fall makes no sense.
5. Don't be so stressed it causes you mental illness. It will be ok, and please talk to a counsellor and get help if it is too much. If you let this situation build in your head, you may lose more then some money.

Every area is different but yes I can grow a crop on 30-40# of nitrogen. If it doesn’t rain that’s all I’ll need anyway. If it rains the organic matter mineralizes and supplies more anyway. I have a rented field which is only 3.5% om but have some at 7%. Makes a big difference if you have a decent om level. Can’t mine it regularly but in these times you do what you have to.

[riders2010]

Are there any maps with amount of precip
Since say September? Because the drought
Area is not getting smaller

[helmsdale]

With the poor crops your area has had the last few years, the demand is probably less than for most dealers. Locally I am hearing about 60% of normal for urea and phos. No potash being sold.

That's the kind of info I'm interested in. I figured south eastern alberta taking two kicks to the nuts back to back was likely an outlier, just wasn't sure by quite how much.

Thank you sir. I appreciate this sites ability to alleviate the syndrome known as "backyarditis".

[flea beetle]

Renting out the rest of the farm may be my only option, getting pointless at this stage of the game.

Heard there was a rent fight on 7 quarters near me. Not sure how true, but top bid is reported at $125/acre.

You may be the smartest guy in the room this year if you rent it out!

[makar]

Renting out the rest of the farm may be my only option, getting pointless at this stage of the game.

[flea beetle]

Booked in mid October. Taking delivery next week. Wished I would have booked in August. Was supposed to show up this week, but a foot of snow put a hamper on that. Still have a little digging out to do. Asked for todays price on fert. to compare to what I booked, and was told that they will have one tomorrow. No price today! I don't think that means it is coming down.

Had booked half my canola seed in October as well. Asked today to book the rest, and was told that all of Richardson as a whole had 97 bags of canola seed left to sell. After that, there was no guarantee. Only needed 70 bags more, so snuck in under the wire. Wanted two different varieties of Brett Young, but they only had the one left. Such is life.

Normally Roundup Transorb is around what...$3500/450L tote? Had booked in October for $5500. I thought that price was whacked already. Asked today, as I may need one more...$7380! Guess I am running with what I have in the shed.

This farming thing is getting pretty crazy.

[poorboy]

Nothing out of the ordinary with this particular place. Supply not an issue. If you want it they can get it, and blending bins are ready to go for immediate pickup if wanted. The issue is NO DEMAND! Nothing, nada, zero!

To put this into perspective, I'd have to sell ALL of what I have available for sale from this last crop, in order to afford the same groceries for this year.

With the poor crops your area has had the last few years, the demand is probably less than for most dealers. Locally I am hearing about 60% of normal for urea and phos. No potash being sold.

[tweety]

Dont worry. I'll be just fine.

A general statement - not you specifically