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Phosphorous management under the microscope amid rising input costs

An extension soil specialist says farmers are inquiring about phosphorous management in relation to high fertilizer prices. 

Dan Kaiser with the University of Minnesota says growers are concerned about the return on their fertilizer dollars.

“You get kind of their attitudes towards their fertilizer is that phosphorous is kind of one of the top (priorities) when it comes to ensuring that there’s fertilizer out there. And I think there are some circumstances where some other things are getting undercut.”

Speaking to Brownfield at the Nutrient Management Conference in Mankato Tuesday, he said if soil tests show high phosphorous level it should be safe to reduce rates.

“You’re really kind of at that point where you need to be looking at whether or not we can start making some withdrawals here. Maybe not completely eliminating applications, but really what can we really live with to make sure that we’re at maximum yield potential.”

Kaiser says farmers probably have more flexibility with fertilizer rates than they realize.