With a dry spring and poor crop yields, many prairie farmers were
probably expecting to save money on fertilizer this fall.
But a spate of late summer rains across many of those dry areas may
have upset those plans.
Nutrients that weren’t used by spotty crops may have instead been used
by weeds and regrowth in August and September.
Soil experts say that means this year, more than ever, no one can
really know what’s going on in their fields unless they do a soil test.
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“The most important thing is that a lot of variability is expected this
fall in terms of nitrogen levels,” said Ken Panchuk, soil specialist
with Saskatchewan Agriculture.
Even experienced farmers who think they’ve seen it all shouldn’t assume
they know what nutrients their fields will need for the coming year.
“There will be some surprises,” Panchuk said.
Ray Dowbenko, an agronomist with the fertilizer manufacturer Agrium,
said the recent rain has probably changed the soil profile dramatically
in some drought areas.
Late season rain can result in a significant release of nitrates from
the soil, he said, and when that’s combined with weeds and second
growth sucking up nitrogen, a lot of nutrients that farmers think are
still in the field simply won’t be there.
“We think an additional 25 to 30 pounds of nitrogen that we would have
expected to see this fall would be used up by this second growth,” he
said. “It’s good news for retailers and manufacturers but not
necessarily good news for farmers.”
However, he also emphasized that farmers should look at soil testing as
an investment.
“It stops a farmer from spending money he doesn’t need to spend, or it
will allow them to look at the economics and say, ‘if I fertilize I’m
going to make money,’ ” he said. “It’s a win-win.”
An Edmonton research company is offering farmers in drought-stricken
parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan a 20 percent discount on soil-testing
services.
Heather Angell, program co-ordinator for Norwest Labs, said in Alberta
the program covers the area north of Calgary.
In Saskatchewan, it covers the area roughly north of the South
Saskatchewan River and east to the Melfort area.
She said the company wanted to do something to help producers suffering
financially from the effects of drought.
“Farmers spend a lot of money putting all these nutrients into the
ground and this year they basically got nothing from it,” said Angell.
“This will allow them to better allocate nutrient dollars in the year
to come.”
Soil tests cost $24 to $58, depending on what is being done. Angell
said that based on a soil test of every 80 acres, the 20 percent
discount translates into a saving of about $240 for an average-sized
farm.
It’s generally recommended that farmers test for nitrogen and sulfur
every year. Phosphorus and potassium can be checked every three or four
years.
Soil tests should be conducted when the soil temperature is 10 C or
lower, which is usually in the first few weeks of October, or in the
spring after the frost is out of the ground and the soil is no longer
saturated.
Fall testing allows for fall application, which can carry a number of
advantages: prices are often lower because dealers are anxious to clear
out inventory for the winter; there may be tax advantages; there is
less soil disturbance than in the spring; and it doesn’t interfere with
other spring field work and seeding.
“For some operations, it just is more economical and practical to do
that work in the fall,” said Panchuk, adding that there is no
significant difference in soil benefits.
