AgroInsights- How Robust is Your Fertilizer Program?

Jul 24, 2023

Chad Smith, Sales Agronomist US North


As most of you know, it has been unseasonably dry in the North region bringing back memories of 2012. This year it seems more acres in the corn belt were affected by drought over 2012, making it more significant. The pattern that has developed from this dry weather is nutrient deficiencies throughout the growing season. The most common deficiency is potassium. As the application season wraps up and we prepare for harvest, now would be a good time to reflect on the season and look for opportunities to improve your fertility program to be able to handle whatever mother nature throws at you...



The fields that have struggled the most with nutrient deficiencies this season have an unbalanced fertilizer program. Meaning that they are relying on one source and application to feed the crop for the entire season. That fertility program can be sufficient most years but is inadequate when we don’t have enough soil moisture to keep nutrients in solution for the plant to take in. A balanced fertility program has multiple sources and applications throughout the growing season to feed the crop at key periods of influence. If you are wondering how to balance out your fertility program, think about shifting fertilizer sources from less effective products to more efficient ones positioned where the plant can use the nutrients, known as Reallocation.


NACHURS has a Start2Finish® program designed to position high-performance products during key influence periods to supply the correct nutrient when the crop demands it most. The Start2Finish program is laid out to show you what products work best by application method and growth stage of a given crop to guide you on how to reallocate your fertility program. For example, the traditional way to fertilize a corn crop might have been to apply all the N, P, and K required to grow the crop pre-plant either in the fall or spring. If I were to reallocate the traditional fertility program into a more balanced fertility program, a quarter of the N and half of the P and K would be applied pre-plant and focus on spoon-feeding the crop during the season. We wouldn’t be making extra passes but maximizing the passes already taking place during the season. The planter can apply a high-quality starter like NACHURS Triple Option® in-furrow to enhance crop emergence and accelerate root growth. Besides, the row and side-dress applications are the perfect way to feed the crop right before its greatest demand of N, K, and S using UAN and NACHURS K-flex®. The herbicide pass gives us an opportunity to foliar feed N, P, and K plus micronutrients with NACHURS Finish Line®. To maximum grain fill, I would apply N, K, and Boron using NACHURS NocKout® at tassel to complete my program.


 As you can see, when we reallocate the traditional fertility program, we create a robust nutrient plan that feeds the crop throughout the entire growing season, maximizing nutrient uptake and yield potential no matter what mother nature has in store.


For more information contact your local NACHURS sales manager or sales agronomist.


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Wayne Becker, District Sales Manager & Agronomy Specialist Blending two NACHURS products (Triple Option® and Balance®) at a 1:1 ratio has proven to jump start soybeans and increase profitability. Many farmers would like to use in-furrow starter fertilizer with their beans but are uncertain of the benefits. When beans are first planted early growth is very important. • It is a race against time between soybeans and weeds, fighting for water, sunlight and nutrients. • The quicker a canopy is established, the less weeds are able to steal resources, which could affect yield potential. Traditional In-furrow fertilization of beans is usually not as easy to visually observe as when it is applied to corn or wheat. However, that does not mean that they are not extremely important. This treatment will provide early season fertility that will help the young crop remain strong and vibrant, enabling them to better deal with stresses like insects, drought or water logging. NACHURS liquid fertilizer has been providing the best in-furrow fertilizer treatments for 75+ years. With NACHURS in-furrow, producers have always been able to safely provide the traditional benefits without decreasing germination because of the fertilizer’s low-salt content and superior availability. New focus on plant and soil health has raised the bar even higher. The NACHURS Bio-K® line of fertilizers is the most available source of K on the market, yet it also promotes both soil and plant health. Because the Bio-K fertilizer is a carbon molecule combined with potassium, applying it in-furrow provides beneficial soil microbes with a food source. This enables microbes to increase nutrient availability – for all types of crops. Legumes use Rhizobia to “fix” their own nitrogen. NACHURS has developed a product specially designed to stimulate early development of these important soil microbes. It is called Balance®. We combine the rhizobia stimulating qualities of Balance with Triple Option which maximizes quantity of other nutrients. The result is improved potential for early season growth and greater profitability of soybeans
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