Agrologists are advising producers it will still pay to fertilize canola with nitrogen fertilizer bought last July at $1,000 per tonne, as long the price stays higher than $8 per bushel.
“Feeding your canola pays,” Jim Bessel of the Canola Council of Canada said Jan. 15 while speaking at the Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission and Saskatchewan Canola Growers Association meeting held during Crop Production Week in Saskatoon.
Bessel said Viterra research has found that it takes a $1 to $3 drop in the per bushel price of canola to justify reducing the nitrogen rate by 10 pounds per acre from maximum recommended rates, which in many cases top 100 lb. per acre.
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“That means for most of us, who weren’t placing all of the recommended N in the ground to begin with, you don’t make any changes to your strategy when it comes to $9 canola,” he said.
Edgar Hammermeister, who farms near Alameda, Sask., and works as an agrologist for Western Ag Labs, was one of those producers who bought his nitrogen last year at July prices.
“It was the right decision at the time. A few months later times had changed, but the rates I need to apply for my canola this spring haven’t,” he said.
“When it comes to fertilizer, it takes some pretty low (commodity) prices before you want to start shaving your rates. But you need to project as realistically as possible what your crop’s potential yields are to make those decisions.”
Hammermeister said producers shouldn’t expect a repeat of last year’s record canola yields of 34 bu. per acre.
Few insects, little disease and a cool summer with an open fall that saw canola blooming in northeastern Saskatchewan until early September gave the crop an opportunity to adapt to what looked like poor growing conditions at the start of the season.
As well, timely rain allowed the plants to live up to their genetic potential.
“If you bought your N in July, fertilize as normal for typical rainfall and soil moisture,” he said.
“If you bought it in December at less than $600 (per tonne), then plan to fertilize for an extra inch of rain (that will result in higher potential yields).”
Hammermeister relies on more than experience to calculate what nutrients his crop, and those of his farmer clients, will need.
A computer program simulates crop potential based on the soil zone, expected rainfall and soil moisture. It begins with total crop potential and reduces yields based on stress conditions.
It also uses current or expected prices to make agronomic recommendations. For example, it would advise against overfertilizing with high priced inputs in a severe drought.
Hammermeister farms in southeastern Saskatchewan, which isn’t considered ideal canola country. His 2009 calculations for his farm show that paying $110 per acre for nitrogen fertilizer would yield a gross return of $274, while $90 per acre would yield a return of $260 per acre.
“So depending on where you grow that crop and under what conditions, there is a point where you can overspend, but you need to know where that is.”
Bessel said producers who want to reduce their fertilizer bill this spring should turn to their phosphorus, but only after soil sampling to ensure they have enough available to grow their targeted canola yields.
“The phosphorus, if you have been fertilizing to recommended rates in previous years, may be like a bank account that you can draw on,” he said.
“But you still need to remember that the biggest crop response comes from that first 13 lb. we put in the soil. The next 13 lb. will likely deliver a 25 to 65 percent response …. The next 13 lb. will likely have less than a 20 percent chance of delivering a benefit to your crop. Those pounds are for tax problems when you need to bury money for future years.”
Phosphorus can be banked because it isn’t mobile in the soil, but Hammermeister said 2009 isn’t a year to be making deposits.
“At these prices for P, I don’t see anybody needing to put their investment in the ground right now.”
Bessel said potassium and sulfur remain critical to growing a high yielding canola crop, but a soil test will confirm available resources for the crop.
“When it comes to micronutrients, well before you go down that road, make sure you are applying all the N that the crop will require. We don’t have enough current research about the new hybrids (canola varieties) and their macronutrient needs, let alone the micros. So start with the basics and if you feel you need to spend more money, go from there,” he said.
“The same goes for the new products that allow you to make better use of nutrients already in the soil. Make sure the nutrients are in (your fields) first. Then fertilize, then ask to see the science behind them.”
Hammermeister said growing high yielding canola crops, especially with the latest varieties of hybrids, takes realistic nutrient planning.
“These hybrids can make use of a lot more fertilizer than we are used to applying and are tougher in stressful conditions than anything we’ve seen before,” he said.
“You wouldn’t send your cows out to a pasture with no grass in the spring and then expect to be shipping any beef in the fall. The crop is the same deal, but sometimes as grain farmers we are tempted to do just that.”
