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www.FarmProgress.com ● November 2010
Wallaces Farmer
Fertilizer N prices move higher
By ROD SWOBODA
I
N early October, a fertilizer dealer in
central Iowa was offering farmers the
opportunity to contract for anhydrous
ammonia for $775 a ton. But you had to pay
by Oct. 24. Was the $775 offer a good deal?
Nitrogen fertilizer prices have risen significantly this fall. The price of anhydrous
ammonia has increased more than 50%
since midsummer. “You need to weigh the
advantages of applying anhydrous in the
fall and the risk of possibly higher prices in
the spring,” says Steve Johnson, Iowa State
University Extension farm management
specialist. “Consider also the risk of any
planting delays that might occur because
of spring nitrogen application.”
Many prefer to apply anhydrous ammonia in the fall due to spring’s time con-
straints and compaction concerns. With
harvest wrapping up early, more farmers
are applying anhydrous this fall. Johnson
offers two thoughts on this decision.
First, an increase in anhydrous from
$500 per ton this past summer to $775 per
ton this fall is an extra $31 per acre. The
price for 2011 corn has gone up more than
$1.50 per bushel since midsummer. If you
average 180 bushels of corn per acre in
2011, that’s an increase of $270 per acre.
Corn and fertilizer prices move in the same
direction. By spring, if December 2011
corn futures are more than $5 per bushel,
Johnson would expect anhydrous prices
to be even higher than those witnessed
this fall.
Second, take a look at the new Natural
Resources Conservation Service website
at nfat.sc.egov.usda.gov, which explains
various nitrogen application methods and
timing. A key question is: How much fall
anhydrous ends up being lost?
Weigh the risk of loss
There is no solid answer, says John Sawyer,
Iowa State University Extension soil fertility
specialist. It depends on fall soil temperatures, spring rainfall, spring temperatures
and field drainage. With little rainfall and
slow conversion of nitrogen from the ammonium form to the nitrate form in the soil,
little nitrogen loss will occur. But with fast
conversion, high rainfall and well-drained
soils, N losses could be high.
To help reduce the risk of loss of fallapplied N, you need to wait until soil temperatures are cold enough before applying.
State soil and water conservation officials
and ISU Extension specialists have been
reminding farmers of that caution this fall.
The rule of thumb is anhydrous should
not be applied before daily soil temperatures at the 4-inch depth drop below 50
degrees F and continue trending lower.
Historically, soil temperatures cool
below 50 degrees F in the northern
third of the state during the first week of
November. In central and southern Iowa,
soil temperatures cool below 50 degrees
during the second and third weeks of
November. Visit extension.agron.iastate.
edu/NPKnowledge to view daily and previous day and the three-day history of average soil temperatures in every county
in Iowa. Also, follow long-term forecasts.
Don’t go until 50 or below
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“By waiting for cold soil temperatures, the
applied ammonia will have a better chance
to be retained in the soil and benefit the
corn crop next spring,” says Barb Stewart,
state agronomist with USDA’s Natural
Resources Conservation Service in Iowa.
“Cooler soil temperatures slow biological
activity, which slows conversion of ammonium to nitrate, allowing the N to stay
in the ammonium form longer. The nitrate
form is mobile and is more prone to loss,
while the ammonium form of N is more
stable in the soil.”
Heavy rain during the growing season
caused many yellow cornfields this
summer due to nitrogen loss. Stewart says
applying anhydrous ammonia prior to soils
dropping below 50 degrees could produce
similar results next year.
“With high anhydrous prices this fall,
farmers should consider a spring application or split spring/sidedress application
to make the best use of the nutrients,” she
says.
ISU research indicates lower yields can
result when anhydrous is applied in the fall
vs. spring, depending on losses. Also, crop
residue cover can be reduced by the tillage
action of anhydrous application, increasing
risk of soil erosion. “Anhydrous knives can
do more tillage and bury more crop residue
than you may realize,” says Stewart.