Saving Energy and Fertilizer Costs

Transcription

1 CIS 1127 Sving Energy nd Fertilizer Costs Best Mngement Prctices for Southern Idho Grin Producers y Juliet Windes, Pul Ptterson, Bryn Hopkins, Json Ellsworth, Brd Brown, Kelly Olson, Ptrici Diley High energy costs men hrd choices for grin growers in the upcoming crop seson. With rising energy costs squeezing ever-decresing profits, it s criticl time to stremline production prctices to mximize fuel nd fertilizer efficiency nd to etter control input costs. As you ger up for the next plnting seson, consider these ides: You cn mnge only wht you mesure. Fertilize for relistic yield gols, not for overly optimistic trgets. Soil testing my e your est investment in 7. Why guess on N, P, nd K needs when fertilizer prices re spiking higher? Strw mngement Current prctices. Strw is currently mnged through vrious levels of soil incorportion. Up to 5 pounds of nitrogen (N) my e dded to enle microil degrdtion (generlly 15- l N per ton of strw). Associted mngement costs include tillge opertions, nitrogen fertilizer, spreding, nd incorportion. Alterntive mrketing of strw. Consider mrketing strw for edding, feed, or conversion to ethnol. In much of the irrigted production lnd in Idho, the short-term costs ssocited with strw residue incorportion my e prohiitive in terms of time, equipment, nd incresed fertilizer for susequent crops. UI fertilizer guides suggest dding 15 to pounds N per cre for ech ton of residue incorported, up to 5 pounds N per cre. By mrketing strw off the frm, it is possile to gin $ to $4 per cre even when someone else hndles the strw removl. Expenses re reduced with no residue hndling, nd strw removl sves the dded nitrogen costs otherwise incurred. Keep in mind, constnt removl of strw my result in soil mining nd increse wind nd wter erosion in res prone to such prolems. A minimum mount of strw is required y NRCS on highly erodile lnd when prticipting in certin frm progrms. Incorporting strw immeditely fter hrvest. If soil tempertures re reltively high, decomposition occurs quickly upon incorportion without dditionl N. This reduces N costs, ut those svings re offset y the cost of running equipment cross the field. Cutting the grin s close to the ground s possile using strw chopper on the comine nd chff spreder will strt the rekdown of strw t hrvest time. For fll tillge, use minimum soil disturnce equipment such s v-ripper. This not only reks up the lnd ut helps hold the snow nd llows Mother Nture to egin reking down the strw. In the spring, use minimum tillge equipment nd leve the strw on top. While close cutting increses hrvest cost, it will reduce the cost of strw incorportion. In notill sitution, however, tller stnding stule is esier to plnt into the following seson. University of Idho Extension Idho Agriculturl Experiment Sttion

2 Burning stule. In limited circumstnces nd where there is no vile mrket for strw, consider urning grin stule. This will reduce tillge/residue mngement field opertions nd sve fuel. Short-run cost svings exist, ut my e offset y long-term losses. Also consider the nonmrket enefits nd costs of urning such s reduced soil orgnic mtter nd incresed erosion potentil fter urning strw. Awreness of the impcts on ir qulity should lso e significnt fctor in the decision to urn strw. Fertility nd nitrogen mngement Fine tuning current fertilizer prctices. In mny cses, we guess on fertilizer needs sed on previous experience nd the ssumption tht grins re minimlly profitle rottion crop. Optiml mngement of nitrogen nd other fertilizer inputs does not equte to mnging for mximum yield, however, ut for mximum profit. Nitrogen (N) ppliction should e sed on relistic yield gol djusted for your soil type, residul soil test N, previous crop (legume), nd irrigtion wter N credits. Accounting for ll sources of ville N (such s residul soil nitrogen, nitrte in irrigtion wter, N minerlized from orgnic mtter, mnure nd crop residues) my llow you to reduce the mount of fertilizer N you pply. Soil testing. Mny producers do not test their soils for N efore plnting smll grins, even though they my soil test efore other crops in their rottion. Indeed, nnul soil testing for P, K, S, nd possily other nutrients for smll grins my e unnecessry, especilly when smll grins re prt of diverse crop rottion tht includes higher-vlue crops tht re routinely fertilized with these nutrients. But testing for N vilility is essentil even in diverse rottions ecuse of the vriility in residul N levels resulting from previous crop mngement. The cost of soil testing for N in the overwhelming mjority of cses is miniml compred with the potentil cost svings (or potentil production increse). Avoiding erly fll nitrogen ppliction. In erly fll, pply only the minimum mount of N needed to estlish the crop to void N leching, immoiliztion, nd voltiliztion losses. Recent reserch in southern Idho suggests tht ny N pplied for purposes of strw decomposition is more effectively used y the next crop if pplied in lte fll or spring. Reserch y the USDA-Agriculturl Reserch Service t Kimerly under field conditions did not support pplying N in erly fll for strw decomposition ut did support incorporting residues s erly s possile to tke dvntge of wrmer tempertures nd longer periods of time for decomposition to occur. Optimizing fertilizer ppliction. Optimize your fertilizer ppliction for mximum dollr return sed on fertilizer price, your expected yield response, nd the price of grin. Considering cheper nitrogen sources. The est source of N is usully the source tht is lest costly. Ure is generlly the lest costly form of dry N. The only concern for ure is tht the N cn e lost to voltiliztion if it remins on the surfce under wrm, windy, nd/or humid conditions. Incorporting ure into the soil vi mechnicl mens (2-4 inches) or irrigtion (.5 inch of irrigtion wter or precipittion) will prevent this N loss, nd ppliction under cool conditions will lessen it. Appliction of mmonium sulfte is more costly ut my e wrrnted if soil nd wter tests indicte need for sulfur in ddition to N. Be wre tht the N in mmonium sulfte cn lso e voltilized if not incorported quickly. Ure is more toxic thn other N sources, so if it is pplied with the seed in the seed row it should e limited to to 25 pounds N per cre (figures 1 nd 2). Use of fertilizer products such s polymer-coted ure or urese inhiitor with regulr ure will help slow conversion of ure into mmonium nd reduce the toxicity risk. The chepest source of N my e nhydrous mmoni (gs) or qu mmoni (liquid), ut these forms require incorportion nd soil seling during the ppliction (6- to 8-inch depth of plcement nd deeper if soil is dry). For mny producers who hve ccess to these sources, the cost cn e significntly less per unit of N thn for dry ure; however, incresed fuel consumption due to the higher horsepower needs for ppliction my offset the cost svings. If pplying phosphorus (P) to your grin crop, most sources, such s MAP (11-52-) lso contin N nd cn e good choice for supplying oth. Bnding P hs een shown to improve uptke efficiency nd, s such, llows to 5% less totl P to e pplied if soil test levels ren t too low. If soil test levels re low, rodcst ppliction of P will e needed s well. pge 2

3 Stnd (%) In-furrow ure (l N/A) Stnd (%) Yield (u/cre) c d Figure 1. In-furrow ppliction of ure (, 1,,, 4, nd 5 l N/A) with spring rley (Bronesse) under drylnd conditions. Note: Stnd is visul estimte of percent stnd compred to n optimum of 1%. Tretments with the sme letter re not significntly different. Source: Windes, J.M. 6. Cerel Vriety Trils, Sod Springs. Stnd (%) In-furrow ure (l N/A) Stnd (%) Yield (u/cre) Figure 2. In-furrow ppliction of ure (, 1,,, 4, nd 5 l N/A) with spring whet (WB936) under drylnd conditions. Note: Stnd is visul estimte of percent stnd compred to n optimum of 1%. Source: Windes, J.M. 6. Cerel Vriety Trils, Sod Springs. c d Yield (ushels/cre) Yield (ushels/cre) Optimizing nitrogen timing. In much of southern Idho, the most effective dry grnulr N ppliction for erly plnted fll whet is top-dress ppliction in lte winter or erly spring, not preplnt ppliction. Any N pplied to soils once tempertures drop elow 5 F will proly e used more effectively thn erlier pplictions ecuse less is immoilized y microorgnisms or lost to voltiliztion. Nitrogen tht cn e tnk-mixed ccording to the lel with other folir pplictions such s hericides will e used effectively y smll grins, ut there is limit to the mount tht cn e pplied without cusing folir urn. As folir ppliction, ure cuses less urn thn ure mmonium nitrte (UAN or Solution 32). Bse your ppliction rte on spring soil smple, s there is too much opportunity for N loss if smples re tken erlier. Optimizing irrigtion. Be cutious with the first irrigtion. More nitrogen cn e lost from the rooting zone y leching thn with ny susequent irrigtion, especilly if the field ws plowed. If you hve to irrigte to insure erly vegettive growth during tillering, void wetting soils to depths elow the existing root system. Limiting the first irrigtion to out.5 inch on corse-textured sndy soils is good prctice. Don t irrigte ny longer during the seson thn necessry. In soils with good wter-holding cpcity, shutting off the wter t soft dough will not ffect yield nd my improve qulity. Shutting off ll irrigtion t mid-dough stge in more corse soils is recommended s long s the upper 2 feet of the soil profile is t or ner field cpcity. pge 3

4 Considering fertigtion. Apply N through irrigtion (fertigte) to reduce trips cross the field nd void physicl crop dmge. Little N is needed y young plnts, nd less y dormnt winter crops. Nitrogen cn e metered through irrigtion lines nd pplied to closely mtch crop demnds. For hrd (red) whet protein enhncement, if N is limiting, n extr shot (- 4 l N/A) cn e pplied when most needed for optiml grin protein lte vegettive to erly grin fill. When irrigtion is less thn optiml, N rtes cn e reduced in nticiption of yield tht is likely to e moisture limited. The downside of fertigtion is the cost per unit of N is likely greter thn with trditionl N sources, ut svings in fuel nd other efficiencies my offset this dded cost. Plnt or production monitoring. Some fter-the-seson ssessments might e in order for fine-tuning nitrogen fertiliztion prctices. For whet, grin protein is resonle mens for estimting the dequcy of nitrogen provided in the system. For soft whites, protein levels elow 1% proly men nitrogen ws indequte for mximizing returns. If soft whet protein exceeds 11% the reverse is proly true. Hrd red winter whet protein lower thn 11% nd DNS (drk northern spring whet) protein elow 12% men nitrogen is proly indequte for mximum returns. Zone mpping. Use zone mps produced for other crops such s pottoes to mximize fertility for high-production zones nd minimize wste in low-production res. Mpping fields for soil type nd productivity is essentil to trgeting high nd low production res. Divide your fields into mngement units sed on soil color nd topogrphy. Collect single soil smple from ech mngement unit nd determine N rte sed on residul soil N nd the yield potentil of the soil in the zone. This ensures you re optimizing N ppliction for ech re in the field. Utilizing PCU. Polymer-coted ure or other N stilized with nitrifiction or urese inhiitors my improve the effectiveness of some pplied N. The cost my not e tht much more thn ure, nd the svings from reduced N losses my offset the initilly higher costs. Other fertilizer mngement Considering cheper K sources. If fertilizing to provide potssium, KCL (potssium chloride - murite) is out third less expensive thn K 2 SO 4 (potssium sulfte) nd proly more effective in ddressing physiologic lef spot in smll grins. Some soils re low in Cl, nd KCl is more pproprite K source if you don t need the sulfur. Fertilizing for mintennce versus crop requirements. Mny growers mintin higher soil test levels for P, K, S, nd other nutrients thn re required for mximum economic returns. To some extent this hs cused considerle reservoir of nutrients to e held in the inorgnic nd orgnic frction, some of which ecomes ville during the growing seson. This might e good yer to drw on this reservoir. Bnding vs. rodcsting. Brodcsting is the most convenient nd quickest ppliction method, ut nding P nd K cn e more efficient if you void slt effects. Other production prctices Idling fields. Idle poor-qulity, lest-productive fields or portions of fields. Focus field opertions nd inputs on your most productive fields or portions of fields. Exmple: shut off pivot corners nd end guns. Choosing pproprite vrieties. Grow plnt vrieties tht use less wter nd/or fertilizer nd yet produce good qulity nd cceptle yields. Choose disese- nd insect-resistnt vrieties with history of good productivity within your re. Also consider mrket cceptility. Reducing tillge. Fuel usge for tillge systems vries tremendously. At $2. per gllon diesel, conventionlly tilled corn uses fuel to the tune of $14.17 per cre, while no-till corn consumes $9.14 per cre. Without tillge, you cn run smller, more fuel-efficient trctors. No-till cn conserve moisture nd potentilly reduce irrigtion costs ssocited with diesel-run pumps. We urge you to visit the USDA Nturl Resources Conservtion Service s (NRCS) online energy estimtor. This energy estimtor will help you clcu- pge 4

5 lte diesel fuel costs ssocited with vrious tillge prctices. Plug in zip code nd crop cres, nd the estimtor will tell you much diesel it will tke to rise crops typiclly grown in your prticulr re under vrious tillge scenrios. We lso recommend you consult your locl soil nd wter conservtion district to see if there re rentl progrms for direct seed drills ville in your re. Furrow-irrigted producers hve some specil chllenges. Onion producers y sttute must ury onions left in the field. Plowing my e necessry following pottoes if volunteer pottoes re n issue. For other low-residue crops, plowing my not e necessry. Corn grin residues generlly require some tillge, ut grzing corn stlks where possile cn gretly reduce the tillge required, not to mention provide dditionl income. Following mny other crops, producers often perform more tillge thn is justified for smll grin estlishment, especilly under sprinklers where furrows don t need to e reestlished. Following smll grins, strw removl could improve the prospects for reduced tillge, especilly for susequent en corner plntings. Mintining vehicles. Mintin nd tune up your trctors nd other vehicles to ensure tht fuel consumption is optiml. Proper mintennce nd upkeep will lso reduce replcement costs nd increse equipment longevity. Optimizing trctor horsepower. Optimize trctor horsepower requirements y opertion nd implement used. Prking gs guzzlers. Prk gs guzzling pickups nd drive fuel-efficient vehicle (cr) whenever possile. Renegotiting contrcts. Renegotite lnd rentl greements to etter reflect the return to lnd sed on higher input costs. This pplies to oth crop-shre nd csh leses. Skipping seed tretments. The potentil exists to skip seed tretments where you hve prcticed excellent rottion nd there is no documented history of high soil disese pressure. Tke cre to void plnting mlt rley infected with high levels of smut diseses. Mny growers will lso spre the expense of uying certified seed nd utilize in-run seed, ut they risk weed seed contmintion. Scouting. For prolem insects such s cerel lef eetle nd fungl diseses such s stripe rust, pplying control mesures ccording to pulished thresholds my sve costs of preventtive tretments. Brodcst seeding. There re some situtions where comining rodcst fertilizer nd seeding opertion mkes sense. It normlly requires higher seeding rte. For lte fll seedings, where smll grins ren t emerging until spring nywy, rodcst seeding with the fertilizer ppliction cn fcilitte more timely plnting, especilly if it enles fll plnting on soils difficult to get onto in the spring. Fertilizer is normlly incorported with shllow tillge opertion, which would serve to cover the seed (though seed depth nd soil dryness re issues). Timely germintion does depend on winter conditions. Fortuntely, emergence of plntings from lte Novemer through Jnury doesn t vry much, nd consequently yields don t differ much either. This could e n option in erly fll s well ut timely germintion nd emergence is more dependent on susequent irrigtion ecuse fll showers re not dependle in mny res such s western Idho. Brodcst seeding is less of n option in spring, where spring showers re infrequent nd delys in germintion nd emergence cn hve pprecile effects on yield nd qulity. If irrigted right fter shllow tillge, spring rodcst seeding is more fesile, ut most of western Idho doesn t hve ccess to irrigtion wter until April, nd smll grins should e well estlished y then. Reducing seeding rtes. Recommended seeding rtes for irrigted spring rley cn e s high s 1 pounds per cre. Most rley vrieties compenste well t lower seeding rtes y incresing the numer of tillers produced per plnt. In reserch done t Aerdeen, there were little to no differences in yields of rley plnted t 6 pounds per cre nd t 1 pounds per cre when seeded t optiml plnting dtes. Mlting/rewing compnies recommend estlishing plnt stnd of 75, plnts per cre to optimize oth yield nd grin qulity. Depending on the 1,-kernel weight nd germintion percentge of the vriety, this my equte to 7 to 8 pounds of seed per cre. Drylnd rley could lso e plnted t reduced seeding rtes. pge 5

6 Mnging weeds. Determine the weed species nd density in ech field efore deciding which hericide(s) to use for weed control. Using the sme hericide comintion for weed control in ll your grin my not e necessry. It my lso e possile to use less expensive hericides or generic forms. On the other hnd, use the recommended rtes for weed control. Using reduced rtes (elow leled rtes) my sve some money in the short term, ut my lso led to igger weed prolems in the long term. Mke sure your spryer is clirted ccurtely. Overppliction of hericides increses costs nd crop injury potentil, which leds to lower yields. Further informtion To order pulictions from Eductionl Communictions, phone (8) , emil clspus@uidho.edu, or go online t info.g.uidho.edu. We sites UI Cerels Agronomy for Idho, UI Cerels Agronomy for South Centrl nd Southestern Idho, scseidho/. Mny of the pulictions in the following list re lso ville through this we site. Pulictions Strw mngement Economic Considertions of Burning Strw nd Alterntive Uses of Strw Winter Commodity Schools Proceedings, vol. 28: UI Extension, Moscow, Idho. Whet Strw Mngement nd Nitrogen Fertilizer Requirements, University of Idho CIS 825. Order from UI Eductionl Communictions. Reducing tillge New Mth: Will Fuel nd Fertilizer Bills Drive Adoption of Conservtion Tillge? Aville online t prtners/115/feture.sp. USDA Nturl Resources Conservtion Service Energy Estimtor, ville online t Reducing seeding rtes Spring Brley Production Guide, University of Idho Extension BUL 742, tle 6, ville online t nd in print from Eductionl Communictions. The uthors Juliet Windes, UI extension grin specilist, Idho Flls; Pul Ptterson, UI griculturl economist, Idho Flls; Bryn Hopkins, extension potto cropping systems specilist, Idho Flls; Json Ellsworth, soil fertility specilist, Twin Flls; Brd Brown, UI extension grin specilist, Prm; Kelly Olson, dministrtor, Idho Brley Commission; nd Ptrici Diley, director of progrms, Idho Whet Commission. Other contriutors include memers of the UI Cerel Topics Tem, UI Extension county fculty, nd mlting/rewing compnies. Fertility mngement Nitrogen Mngement for Hrd Whet Protein Enhncement, PNW 578, ville online t or in print from UI Eductionl Communictions. Issued in furthernce of coopertive extension work in griculture nd home economics, Acts of My 8 nd June, 1914, in coopertion with the U.S. Deprtment of Agriculture, Chrlotte V. Eerlein, Director of University of Idho Extension, University of Idho, Moscow, Idho The University of Idho provides equl opportunity in eduction nd employment on the sis of rce, color, ntionl origin, religion, sex, sexul orienttion, ge, disility, or sttus s disled vetern or Vietnm-er vetern, s required y stte nd federl lws. Jnury 7 online only