A Look at Cutting Fertilizer Rates

For most producers, lower input prices are the easiest way to reduce their cost of production. In past posts we’ve evaluated seed prices and fertilizer prices. While recent data indicates lower fertilizer prices are possible in 2016, farmers will likely place pressure on their retail partners to get fertilizer expense even lower.

Another option for producers to lower their fertilizer expense is by reducing application rates, especially for soils with banked phosphorous and potassium. This week’s post takes a looks at the data to see if this strategy has been used in the past. Specifically, nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium application rates for corn have been evaluated.

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