The only consistency working in the agriculture industry is that every year is different. Looking toward the 2022 growing season this is already becoming apparent. Weather, commodity prices, input costs are all highly variable and mostly out of our control. However, there are some things we can control in managing a crop to reach the best yield potential while keeping economics in mind. Soil testing continues to be one of the most important tools a grower can use to help manage their crop fertility program. Although it is not simply just taking the soil test, but also understanding the results and knowing how to use them. The team at AgroLiquid can help growers understand soil test reports and walk through key areas where fertilizer dollars should be focused to balance yield and economics. This knowledge of soil fertility is backed by years of research from our North Central Research Station along with numerous field trials from across the country. Data is compiled to develop a win-rate, where measurements of both wins and losses are used to determine the likelihood of achieving a positive response from a fertility program. Then economics can be applied to help growers recognize the return a fertilizer investment has on profitability.

Cut With a Scalpel – Not A Machete

Sulfur

As input prices increase, the reaction often times is to cut out micro and secondary nutrients. However, these play a big part in yield so it is best not to cut completely. Sulfur is critical for corn production, as we have lost the “free sulfur” from the environment, adding to a fertility program is important. AgroLiquid had two sulfur products accesS® and eNhance. AccesS is a 17% sulfur with micronutrients that should not be applied in-furrow, but can be applied away from the seed at planting, in strip-till, Y-Drop or sidedress. Win-rate analysis shows that over 96% of the time you will get a positive economic response for applications on corn with an average yield increase of around 8 bu/A. Another sulfur option is eNhance, an 8.7% sulfur with micronutrients, which is safe for in-furrow applications. Data shows that an average yield response from 2 qt of eNhance applied in-furrow on corn provides a 7.7 bu/A and an economic return 94.1% of the time.

Calcium

Calcium plays a key role in plant health and is especially important for soybean growth and development. There are many soils across the country that are low in calcium and soil amendments are the best way to address this. However, the addition of calcium in a fertility program will provide the necessary nutrients for the crop. LiberateCa is a seed safe calcium source, which can be safely mixed and applied with other AgroLiquid products. This allows a single product to be applied at planting. Win-rate analysis of adding LiberateCa to a soybean planter fertilizer program has shown over a 3 bu/A yield increase with a positive economic return nearly 92% of the time.

Micronutrients

With the push for higher yields, the benefit of micronutrients has become more apparent. However, many times the focus is on a single nutrient like zinc or boron. AgroLiquid’s Micro 500 is a specialized blend of five essential micronutrients: zinc, manganese, iron, copper and boron. Review of a soil test will help determine which micronutrients are low, but often the combination of these five micros will provide better yield response than just focusing on one nutrient. This is because they work better as a team and help improve the overall plant health. Micro 500 is a great product for any crop and can safely be applied at planting, foliar or any in-season application. When applied in-furrow on corn, average yield increase has been nearly 8 bu/A with an economic return 94.7% of the time. Applied to soybeans at planting, Micro 500 achieved 3.6 bu/A average yield increase with a positive return seen every time in this data set.

Balance Yield and Economics

By Dan Peterson, Agronomist

Although there is growing interest in alternative forages such as annual grass/small grain blends with annual legumes and other forbs, alfalfa is still the “Queen” of forages (corn silage is “King”). There are many reasons for this, including alfalfa’s unparalleled animal nutrition profile. Good quality alfalfa cut at the right time will contain 20% or more of crude protein – the highest of the popular forage crops. This protein is highly soluble with a great balance of amino acids. According to Forage Complete, alfalfa contains “vitamins such as A, E, K, D, B1, C, B2, B12, U, B6 and amino acids such as folic acid, panthothanic acid, biotin, niacin and inocitole. In addition to these, alfalfa has high levels of calcium (Ca), potassium (K), phosphorus (P), sulfur (S), copper, chlorine, magnesium, iron, boron, manganese and cobalt”. Other benefits from alfalfa in the ruminant diet include:

• Highly degradable protein, up to 74-79% according to some estimates.
• Its digestibility reduces the amount of cud a cow must chew.
• It increases rumen buffering.
• It promotes faster digestion of digestible fiber.
• Cows will often eat more alfalfa than grass because the fiber content is usually lower in well managed alfalfa.

More than Just Excellent Feed

Benefits of alfalfa in the crop rotation include its exceptional drought tolerance, high rates of soil nitrogen fixation, opportunities for summer manure applications, weed seedbank reduction, breaks the extended diapause corn rootworm cycle, and it significantly improves soil health. It is also a valuable cash crop, particularly in the great plains and Southwestern US. A significant amount of alfalfa is exported to Southeast Asia, Japan, and to the Mideast. It is now the third most valuable crop in the US, behind only corn and soybeans. Clearly alfalfa will remain a major crop in the U.S.

More Yield & Better Quality

From a fertility standpoint, alfalfa requires significant amounts of P, K, S, Ca, and micronutrients. An interesting and very useful characteristic of alfalfa that I discovered early in my research is that it absorbs foliar nutrition more efficiently than any other crop that I have experience with. In fact, it is so good at absorbing foliar nutrients that we can apply significantly higher rates of our nutrients, including  the sulfur product accesS , in foliar applications to alfalfa than in any other crop that I’m aware of.

In recent years AgroLiquid has been conducting significant research on alfalfa, including trials with four cooperators in south central Minnesota this past summer. Several AgroLiquid treatments were evaluated against dry fertilizer and as a foliar supplement to dry fertilizer. AgroLiquid treatments were applied to 6-8” regrowth between cuttings. At two locations the foliar treatments were applied to the 2nd and 3rd cuttings, with the 4th harvested to measure any carry-over effect. At the other two locations the treatments were applied to the 2nd and 4th cuttings. At three of the four locations the AgroLiquid treatments resulted in significant dry matter yield increases versus the dry fertilizer, while at the fourth location there was no significant yield difference across the treatments. One consistent effect of the AgroLiquid foliar treatments we observed in the Minnesota field trials was significantly faster growth between cuttings, reaching cut maturity (late bud) 3-4 days earlier than the dry fertilizer treatments. This is a very consistent effect from AgroLiquid foliar treatments in alfalfa across all years, cuttings, and locations.

82% Win Rate vs Dry Fertilizer

Since 2015, including the Minnesota locations in 2020, our overall cumulative field plot win rate in alfalfa across 88 comparisons versus competitive treatments is 82%, which in agronomy is a terrific result! While in Minnesota this past year and in the 2019 plots in western Kansas in 2019 we didn’t see any meaningful quality differences, in 2015-2018, we observed significant quality improvements in the AgroLiquid treated alfalfa over the dry fertilizer.

Bottom line – alfalfa growers should be aware that a well-thought-out crop nutrition management plan can significantly benefit yield performance and profitability. As always, if your crop is not reaching its full potential, contact your crop nutrition expert to help investigate opportunities. We’re here to help you develop a crop nutrition plan to meet your yield goals.