The central theme as I talk to growers regarding decision-making factors moving forward in the new crop season are commodity prices, input cost and the resulting return on investments.  As I check the pricing environment, nothing looks really good.  Cotton hangs around $.83 on Nov. board, corn at $4.37 Sept. and soybeans at $11.27 Nov.  Peanut price per ton appears to hang in the $500-$525 range.  All of this points to a very tight year.  None of us like the fact that input costs are still high and opportunities for rising commodity prices are sparse.  At least for corn, we have a positive basis on which we gain some advantage in price development.

In corn, our largest input price is fertilizer.  We all have witnessed before 2023, price increases of 200% to 300% on the farm.  Fortunately, fertilizer prices dropped only because of falling corn prices.  That tells you something.  For the most part, the majority of fertilizer resides in the hands of three or four global companies and it tends to rise and fall with corn prices.

If you are using a private soil lab, I expect that you are receiving, based on a yield goal, a recommendation that in may be high for your yield expectation.  It tends to build soil levels over the years and is likely to overestimate the off-take.  How do we reduce our fertilizer cost while having confidence that we are doing no harm to our expected average yield?  I suggest to take your private lab data and plug in into the Ugfertex program: https://aesl.ces.uga.edu/calculators/ugfertex/ .  It will cost you nothing but a little time.  This program is designed to allow you to use data provided by most labs in the state and place them into the program to obtain fertilizer recommendations on any crop.

The UGA lab uses crop coefficient curves that provide probabilities of response to soil test values and crop yield. Their values reflect crop uptake and usage. One thing I will say for most recommendations from any lab is that they do NOT reflect the improving nitrogen use efficiency of many modern-day hybrids.  As I review N studies across the country, it is noticeable that the yield response to nitrogen is closer to 1 lb N per bushel per acre on average in the corn belt.  In Georgia and South Carolina, where the majority of corn is planted on sandy-to-sandy loam soils, N recommendations average 1.2 lbs N per bushel per acre.  On deep sandy soils, we often recommend 1.3 lbs N per bushel per acre.  Nitrogen is very mobile and easily leaches in our sandy soils. In wet years, our fields are prone to N loss. UGA recommendations take into account these soil losses. In new studies conducted in Georgia, N responses are closer to 1 to 1.1 lbs per bushel overall. This year, I suggest that you look at your field yield acreage and supply nitrogen at 1 to 1.1 lb N per average bushel yield obtained over the last several years.  Since most corn is irrigated, nitrogen can be injected through the irrigation system or applied via airplane if more N is needed due to wet weather. Managing your fertilizer cost to obtain your yield average given the high cost this year, is a wise step that reduces your risk. 

Many growers utilize manure whenever it is available for much of their phosphorus and potassium and other nutrients.  A lot of growers generally don’t reduce their inorganic N supply in corn fertilizer with the nitrogen in the manure but you should.  Poultry manure (broiler) is 2.5 to 3% N per ton.  That amounts to 50 to 60 lbs N per ton.  Of that, you can expect the availability to range from 50 to 60% or 25 to 36 lbs N per acre per ton.  Of that, roughly half will be available quickly.  In addition, studies show, depending on the litter and how it is stored or how long it weathers, the availability of P and K ranges from 70 to 85% for covered litter and 65% to 80% for uncovered litter.  I would certainly account for these and other nutrients this year if I were using manure to reduce my commercial fertilizer cost.

Another cost that you may well consider modifying is seed cost.  I see many farmers only getting 7 to 8 bushels per acre per thousand kernels.  For example, if you plant 34,000 kernels per acre and average 225 to 230 bushel per acre, I would drop my planting rate to 30,000 kernels.  In many of our yield trials, the average yield per thousand kernels per acre is 8.5 bushels per thousand kernels.  Given the math, 30 K could easily average 255.  Before you say wait a minute, just know that under high yielding, well managed environments, I have seen yields of 10 to 12 bushels per thousand kernels but that is the exception rather than the rule.  Reduce your seed cost within reason and focus your attention on getting every seed up as quickly as possible near the same time.  This way, you will have very few plants dominating the other.  Rapid, even emergence is a benefit to obtaining better yield.

It appears that as pencils get shorter, planting time is nearer and budgets become clearer.  Commodity prices this year with inflationary input costs really undermines the potential ROI. I encourage every corn grower to focus on producing the best yield that you have confidence in obtaining with your equipment, land and skills.  Remember, stress is the killer. Good land prep, moderate seeding, careful planting with an even soil depth, appropriate fertilizer applications for a realistic yield goal, solid weed control, and timely topdressing will pay dividends on your potential yield.  Please pay attention to the details during the year, walk your fields and respond to crop stress and mitigate it as quickly as possible.  You do this, and you would have done your best.