Agribusiness Association of Iowa Ag Retailer Survey Executive Summary

Transcription

1 Agribusiness Association of Iowa Ag Retailer Survey Executive Summary The Agribusiness Association of Iowa conducted a survey of ag retailer members in the late fall of 2015 asking for their insights into the nutrient management and conservation activities of their customers to help characterize the status of farmer efforts across Iowa. The survey did not ask for any feedback about individual farmers, rather it relied on the experience and knowledge that ag retailers and crop advisers possess about their customers as a whole thanks to the large presence they have working with virtually every farmer, in every field, every year. Summary of Key Findings: Overall, the survey findings provide valuable information about the lay of the land on farmer use of several nutrient management and conservation practices, and shows how ag retailers are assisting with those efforts in the services they provide. Here are some key findings from the survey: Ag retailers have responded impressively to offer numerous services that have benefits for both crop productivity and environmental objectives. 100% of retailer responses indicated that they offer soil sample collection, and 92% offer soil sample nutrient analysis. 88% of retailers sell seed for cover crops, and 73% offer seeding services to plant cover crops. The largest areas of potential interest in retailer service offerings are for UAV use in agriculture and for conservation planning services, showing that retailers are responding well to what their customers have shown strong interest in and demand for as markets emerge. Nearly equal amounts of farmers apply their nitrogen in a single application as those that apply their nitrogen in split applications. The majority of farmers are applying their nitrogen at rates that fall within ISU guidelines. The vast majority of farmers use soil tests to inform their phosphorus application rate. A large percentage of farmers utilize variable rate technology to apply their phosphorus. Less intensive tillage methods (e.g. no-till, conservation tillage) were the most common methods for tillage prior to both corn and soybeans, while intensive tillage such as using a moldboard plow was the least utilized method. Farmer use of agronomy decision support tools shows strong adoption of technologies that help inform them about nutrient management and productivity goals. Farmer use of conservation planning ranked equal to or greater than many of the decision tools used by farmers to inform them about their productivity and inputs.

2 Question Topics Covered: Retailer demographics Land use, cover crops Nitrogen timing, rate, stabilizer/inhibitor use Phosphorus soil tests, VRT application, incorporation Tillage types and timing Retailer service offerings Farmer decision support tools usage Survey Methodology & Responses Received: 17-question online survey sent via to over 130 AAI ag retailer members 60 complete responses received All 9 crop reporting districts in Iowa were represented in responses Number of customers served per retailer ranged from 15 7,000 Number of acres served per retailer ranged from 20,000-2,000,000 acres Combined responses represent a total of 50,631 farmers and 18,469,250 acres

3 Appendix A: Ag Retailer Survey Questions

4 Ag Retailer Survey Survey Information As agricultural retailers, you and your crop advisers are the agronomy experts that work with virtually every farmer, in every field, every year and thanks to that you possess experience and knowledge about the general lay of the land across the farms you work with. AAI is seeking your assistance with this survey to help inform us about your insights into the nutrient management and conservation activities of your customers to help characterize the status of farmer efforts across Iowa. This survey will help provide a better understanding of where we are at, where we need to focus more attention, and how AAI can better serve you in these efforts. This survey is not asking for you to report information about what your customers are doing individually, rather it seeks to use your general knowledge and experience to provide responses that are your best estimate of the activities across your customer base as a whole.information collected from this survey will remain internal to AAI, and individual retailer responses will not be shared with other retailers. In fact, this survey does not ask you for your company name or contact info, it just asks for you to share your insights and experience anonymously. The combined survey results will be shared back with retailers and will be done in a manner that does not identify any individual company responses. It is not intended for this survey to be a heavy lift for you to complete, and with that in mind we ve tried to design it so the questions and answer options are presented in a straightforward and intuitive manner. There are 17 questions in the survey, and we ve done our best to make them easy to understand and complete, but if you have any questions we encourage you to contact us and we ll be happy to help. Only one response per company is sought, but if you are a larger company organized on a regional or area basis within your company, we welcome you to complete this survey separately for each of your internally defined regions or areas if you so choose. Please feel free to contact AAI at and ask for Shawn, Reilly or Dean if you have any questions or need assistance with the survey. Thanks in advance for your assistance with this effort! 1

5 Ag Retailer Survey Retailer Info 1. Approximately how many customers does your company provide agronomic services for? 2. Approximately how many acres of cropland do you service? 3. Which crop reporting district most closely matches up to your service area? If your company has multiple branches/regions please feel free to complete this survey separately for each of your branch or regional units. 2

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7 Ag Retailer Survey Nitrogen Management 4. Based on your general knowledge of your customers, please indicate the general % of your customers that utilize the following N application methods. Fall N only NA <10% 10-30% 30-50% 50-70% 70-90% >90% Utilize a N stabilizer/inhibitor product Spring Pre-Plant N only Fall N + Spring Pre-Plant N Fall N + Spring Pre-Plant N + In-Season N In-Season N only Spring Pre-Plant N + In- Season N Manure Fertilizer Used Other (please specify) 4

8 5. Based on your general knowledge, how do you think your customers' N application rates for corn compare to what ISU recommendations are based on the ISU Corn N Rate Calculator? Please indicate the general % of your customers that are above, below, or within recommended ranges. General recommended ranges using this calculator are lbs/acre for corn following soybeans, and lbs/acre for continuous corn. For more specific recommended ranges, you can utilize the link to the ISU calculator below this question for reference. Just click the link below and select "Iowa" in the list, select the crop rotation, and enter the N cost and corn price to get recommended economic optimum ranges for N rates. <10% 10-30% 30-50% 50-70% 70-90% >90% Above Recommended Range Below Recommended Range Within Recommended Range ISU Maximum Return to Nitrogen (MRTN) Calculator 5

9 Ag Retailer Survey Phosphorus Management 6. Approximately what % of your customers utilize soil testing to inform P application rates? <10% 10-30% 30-50% 50-70% 70-90% >90% 7. Approximately what % of your customers use variable rate application for P? <10% 10-30% 30-50% 50-70% 70-90% >90% 8. About how often do customers utilizing soil tests do tests on their farms? Please indicate the % of customers that test at the various frequencies listed below. Annually <10% 10-30% 30-50% 50-70% 70-90% >90% Unsure Every 2 Years Every 3 years or more 9. How quickly are P applications in your area incorporated into the soil through tillage, application method, or other means? Please indicate the general % of your customers that fit into the following options. At Time of Application <10% 10-30% 30-50% 50-70% 70-90% >90% Within 1 Week of Application >1 Week After Application No Incorporation 6

10 Ag Retailer Survey Tillage Practices 10. Based on your general knowledge of your customers, please indicate the general % of your customers that utilize the following tillage practices BEFORE CORN crops in your area. Fall Tillage NA <10% 10-30% 30-50% 50-70% 70-90% >90% Spring Tillage No-Till Strip-Till Conservation Tillage (>30% residue) Chisel Plow/Disk Ripper Disk/Field Cultivator (Single Pass) Disk/Field Cultivator (Multi-Pass) Moldboard Plow 7

11 11. Based on your general knowledge of your customers, please indicate the general % of your customers that utilize the following tillage practices BEFORE SOYBEAN crops in your area. Fall Tillage NA <10% 10-30% 30-50% 50-70% 70-90% >90% Spring Tillage No-Till Strip-Till Conservation Tillage (>30% residue) Chisel Plow/Disk Ripper Disk/Field Cultivator (Single Pass) Disk/Field Cultivator (Multi-Pass) Moldboard Plow 8

12 Ag Retailer Survey Agronomic Decision Support Tools 12. Please indicate the general % of your customers that utilize the following decision support tools. <10% 10-30% 30-50% 50-70% 70-90% >90% Unsure Late spring soil nitrate test Fall corn stalk nitrate test Mobile soil testing equipment/service for nitrate and/or ammonium Soil samples w/ lab analysis for nitrate and/or ammonium Pre-Sidedress soil testing for nitrate and/or ammonium Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for crop scouting, farm mapping, etc. GIS soils mapping & productivity analysis Yield mapping software Online decision support tool services (e.g. Climate Pro, Encirca, etc.) Conservation planning 9

13 13. Do you offer any of the following services to your customers? Soil sample collection Yes No Looking Into/Interested In This Soil sample nutrient analysis Late spring soil nitrate tests Fall corn stalk nitrate tests UAV services (field mapping, scouting, etc.) Cover crop seed supplier Cover crop seeding Conservation planning 10

14 Ag Retailer Survey Land Use 14. Based on your general knowledge of your service area, please indicate the approximate % of land in the following land use categories. <10% 10-30% 30-50% 50-70% 70-90% >90% Corn/Soybean Rotation Continuous Corn Extended Rotation Pasture/Hay/Forage/CRP 15. Based on your general knowledge of your customers, approximately what % of them plant cover crops? Cover Crops Usage <10% 10-30% 30-50% 50-70% 70-90% >90% Unsure 11

15 Ag Retailer Survey Emerging Trends 16. Please provide comments on any new/emerging trends with nutrient management (source, rate, timing, placement) you are seeing in your area (e.g. In-season broadcast urea application becoming popular, about 25% of customers are using it) 12

16 Appendix B: Summary Graphs of Responses

17 Question: Based on your general knowledge of your customers, please indicate the general % of your customers that utilize the following N application methods. Nitrogen Application Timing Number of Retailer Responses <10% 10-30% 30-50% 50-70% 70-90% >90% Farmers Using Split Application Single Application

18 Question: Based on your general knowledge of your customers, please indicate the general % of your customers that utilize a N stabilizer/inhibitor product. Question: Based on your general knowledge of your customers, please indicate the general % of your customers that utilize manure fertilizer.

19 Question: Based on your general knowledge, how do you think your customers' N application rates for corn compare to what ISU recommendations are based on the ISU Corn N Rate Calculator?

20 Question: Approximately what % of your customers utilize soil testing to inform P application rates? Question: Approximately what % of your customers use variable rate application for P?

21 Question: About how often do customers utilizing soil tests do tests on their farms? Question: How quickly are P applications in your area incorporated into the soil through tillage, application method, or other means?

22 Question: Based on your general knowledge of your customers, please indicate the general % of your customers that utilize the following tillage practices BEFORE CORN crops in your area.

23 Question: Based on your general knowledge of your customers, please indicate the general % of your customers that utilize the following tillage practices BEFORE SOYBEAN crops in your area.

24 Question: Please indicate the general % of your customers that utilize the following decision support tools. Question: Do you offer any of the following services to your customers?

25 Question: Based on your general knowledge of your service area, please indicate the approximate % of land in the following land use categories. Question: Based on your general knowledge of your customers, approximately what % of them plant cover crops?