ON-FARM THOUGHTS: High Nitrogen Prices and Hay Production
by John McGregor, MFGA Extension Support
When looking to improve pastures after a drought, one of the points to consider is whether to use fertilizer nitrogen (N) to improve productivity. This becomes questionable given the price of fertilizer this year whether the benefit that fertilizer provides is affordable.
I once read that you can’t starve a profit into a cow or into a hay crop. When it comes to forages this means that you probably should look to strategically fertilize a forage crop via:
- Soil testing your fields so that you know which nutrients are needed and if they will offer a return on your investment.
- Using manure as a good source of nutrients. Knowing what’s in manure and spreading it where it’s needed -not just where it is convenient -can help cut fertility costs.
Are your field stands grass or legume?
Fields with high percentages of legumes (greater than 50 percent) may not need additional nitrogen whereas stands with mostly grass (less than 30 percent legume) will benefit with proper/timely applications of nitrogen.
Increasing legume percentages to 50 per cent or greater or spreading manure where N is needed are two practices that should be part of a longer term strategy.
After last year’s drought, some producers are looking to get cattle out on productive pasture as quickly as possible. Pastures that weren’t over-grazed last fall or that have adequate N available will be able to take advantage of spring moisture and heat to grow quickly and be ready for grazing.
The addition of N fertilizer on stressed pastures can help promote quicker growth early allowing cattle access to enough forage to meet their needs.
Which brings us back to the question: Given the price of N, is the benefit affordable?
To better understand the price/benefit effect I contacted John Heard, Crop Production Specialist with Manitoba Agriculture.
According to Heard, when determining economic fertilizer rates, farmers need to consider both the value of the crop and cost of the N, or the Price Ratio: the cost per lb of N divided by hay value/lb. In these examples it is standing hay, so growers need to factor their own harvesting costs.
