The spike in nitrogen fertilizer prices over the past month has prompted many growers to think about switching more acres to soybean in 2026. The high nitrogen fertilizer prices are squeezing the potential profitability of any crop requiring nitrogen fertilizer, such as corn, dry bean, canola, or wheat. The symbiotic nitrogen fixing behavior of soybean […]
This article originally appeared in the AGVISE Laboratories Spring 2024 Newsletter. Each spring, we get questions about what form of phosphate fertilizer is better. The debate over orthophosphate and polyphosphate has raged for decades. Just when we think we have put the issue to bed, it comes up again! These questions originate from the simple […]
This article originally appeared in the AGVISE Laboratories Spring 2025 Newsletter. Cool and wet soil conditions can limit root growth and phosphorus uptake during the early growing growing season. This is why starter phosphorus placed with or near the seed can be so effective in enhancing early plant growth and development. In small grains, starter […]
This article originally appeared in the AGVISE Laboratories Spring 2023 Newsletter under President’s Corner The phosphorus soil test debate never ends. Should I use the Olsen test, or maybe Bray-1 would be better? What about the Mehlich-3 method, and should that extract be analyzed on an ICP or with a colorimetric method? Perhaps, Bray-2 or […]
This article originally appeared in the AGVISE Laboratories Spring 2023 Newsletter The goal of AGVISE Newsletters is to inform you and your customers of important soil fertility information relevant to our area. Often, visuals or graphs are much more powerful at communicating a message than words. With that in mind, I want to share two […]
This article originally appeared in the AGVISE Laboratories Spring 2023 Newsletter If you thought high fertilizer prices would resolve after one or two years, it is looking like those prices are becoming the new norm. At such prices, every fertilizer dollar you spend must be spent to guarantee the best bang for each buck. This […]
This article originally appeared in the AGVISE Laboratories Winter 2022 Newsletter Broadcast or band? For phosphorus and potassium, these are big fertilizer questions. In recent months, high fertilizer prices have prompted farmers and agronomists to consider other strategies to reduce fertilizer costs without jeopardizing crop yield. Among the most common and effective options is placing […]
The fall harvest season is a busy time of year. Farmers need to finish harvest, apply fertilizer, and complete any tillage operations before the long winter sets in. Another field operation that needs to be completed within this flurry of activity is soil sampling, and sampling timing is crucial to getting quality and consistent soil cores. […]
When profits are squeezed, more farmers are asking about optimal starter fertilizer rates and how low starter fertilizer rates can be. These questions are the result of wanting to keep fertilizer costs down, to plant as many acres per day as possible, and to take advantage of more efficient, lower rates of banded phosphorus fertilizer […]
The year 2019 marked the 350th anniversary of discovering phosphorus, an element required for all life on Earth and an essential plant nutrient in crop production. Over the years, we have fallen in and out of love with phosphorus as a necessary crop input and an unwanted water pollutant. Through improved knowledge and technologies, we […]