How Can Growers Optimize Fertility Programs to Save Costs in Tough Economic Times?

00:00:00 Hi, this is Kelly Gear from XT Extreme Ag. I'm here with Clint Freeze of calibrated agronomy. A question came into extreme ag. 00:00:06 What percentage of my fertility mix for the season can I move to foliar versus two by two versus dry? 00:00:13 You know, we're in a tougher economic environment. Many growers are out there trying to figure out what is the most efficient, least expensive way 00:00:21 to put on my fertility. And I would tell you that's a huge question and I think it's one many growers are asking this season. 00:00:27 I would tell you it depends on your soil analysis. It depends on your ability for two by two. It depends upon your ability for the foliar. 00:00:34 Clint has a few answers and a few ideas on what to look for, to how to really customize your mix to try to save a few dollars. 00:00:43 So one of the main things we do, and it's come from years of research really, but we pull our base fertility on our p 00:00:48 and k applied backed by around 40%, and then we'll use SAP testing in season to really dial in what we need and what the plant's lacking. 00:00:57 So, so it's a great place to start. We've got the data kind of to back it up that we, our fertility doesn't slide from those rates, 00:01:03 but a farmer can and, and tough economic times. Like right now, if you've got really good ground, you can pull back more and we can feed 00:01:10 in season off the sap. But for a long period of time, I think our, our really methodology is a 40% pullback 00:01:16 and we allocate some of those dollars to end season to help balance that plant. I would agree upon that. If you have been doing a good job 00:01:23 of fertilizing and balancing your soil over the years, cutting the dry fertility out entirely for one year and living off that savings account's, probably. 00:01:30 Okay. I wouldn't advise on that for a many year period. No, but it, you know, again, a tougher time. We've had a couple tough years in agriculture here. 00:01:37 If you need to save some money this year, you could do that. And then like I would agree with you again on the SAP test. 00:01:43 What we've done on my farm, we're really dialing it in. We're dialing it in. We know exactly what to put on. We're not wasting any money at all, 00:01:49 because the SAP test gives us that detail of information that I just really have peace 00:01:54 of mind. I'm not wasting any dollars. Yeah. Allows us to supply the right product, the right fertilizer at the right time. That's right. Yep. 00:02:01 Yeah. So in a tougher economic time, really look for ways to customize your operation, customize your blend, 00:02:06 and really get good data like we use out of the SAP test 00:02:09.665 --> 00:02:12.045