Fertilizer Comments

       A common question often asked is when is the best time to buy fertilizer.  I am not sure any of us know the answer to that question.  One tool that is helpful to us when determining if fertilizer is a good price is using the CPI Index.  What this tells us is how many bushels of new crop corn will it take to buy a ton of fertilizer.  Looking at past history one thing we have noticed is that it normally takes about 70 bushels of corn to buy one ton of fertilizer.  If the CPI Index is 70 or less that tells us that it may be time to buy fertilizer.  There are times when the index is well above 70 and that tells us that this is not a good time to buy fertilizer.

        Another thing to consider when buying fertilizer is how you can make it more efficient on your fields.  For example, research shows us that 60% of your phosphate is tied up as soon as you apply it to the soil.  One product we are promoting to help prevent the phosphate from tying up and being more available to your plants is called Avail.  Avail can be applied to all dry or liquid forms of phosphate fertilizers.  Besides better yields, we have noticed that both corn and bean plants have bigger root systems, better stalk strength and the plants mature faster.  On the nitrogen side we are promoting a product called Nutrisphere N.  This product can be used on Urea, 32%, and 28%.  Nutrisphere makes nitrogen less volatile and keeps it from leaching down in the soil making it available in late season to help with grain fill.  Stop in at one of our locations and let us know how we can help you maximize your yields for this upcoming season.