Grower Profile

Sharing Wisdom With Fellow Growers 

Fertility Management, Product Comparisons and Advice for Innovators

By: Richard Kiefer, Grower – Warren County, Tennessee

I've been involved in agriculture since I was a boy growing up in Florida. We produced watermelons, cantaloupes, peppers and squash, as well as cattle. Upon moving to Tennessee, I took a few years off until I had interaction with local farmers and had time to learn the growing season and practices employed in this particular region.

Know the crop you’re planting; feed it accordingly

When it comes to fertility management, we initially take soil samples across sections of each field to determine nutrient requirements and to amend the soil pH in relation to the crop being planted in that ground. The soil sample is your agricultural Bible; take it, read it and apply it. It’s important to know and understand your crop that you are planting and feed it accordingly. Our original corn fertility program included applying ammonium nitrate at pre-plant and top-dress. With our desire to ever increase our yields, we researched other methods of fertilization. I have consulted frequently with my uncle who has been in the agricultural industry for almost 40 years. He consistently tells me feeding the plant frequently throughout its growing cycle will always produce a more vigorous plant and subsequently better yields. Typically, we start off with only 60 units of nitrogen (N) per acre and all of the requirements of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) as well as micronutrients. Due to the size of our operation, I personally apply approximately 130 to 140 units of N per acre at top-dress.

We have been no-tilling for the past four years. However, we will be doing some tillage this year, especially in the corn fields as there is so much residue leftover from the harvest. In the spring we will perform some light tillage to help ensure the residue is worked in and won't interfere with plant germination. It is also our view that lightly tilled soil warms more quickly and promotes a higher percentage of germination.

With the philosophy of feeding the plant continually through its growth cycle, we take this focus; a small plant equates to utilizing a small amount of N, and a larger plant equates to utilizing a larger amount of N. Therefore, it was our desire to search out ways to control N loss through leaching and volatilization, as we top-dress with no incorporation into the soil except by natural rainfall or, in some cases, irrigation. I honestly like irrigating crops. As the old mantra goes, "decide your fate - irrigate!" We are not able to irrigate all fields; however, we are able to irrigate approximately 50 percent of the operation now.

Comparing N Stabilizers

Our desire is to keep N in the soil so the plant can utilize as much of the N fertilizer as possible. My view of ammonium nitrate is that it's extremely volatile. The plant uses it quickly and if enough is not applied through the plant's growth cycle, you suffer yield loss at harvest. To overcome this challenge, we decided it was in our best interest to integrate an N stabilizer into our fertility management program.

Before we started treating our urea with NutriSphere-N, we were using an advertised competitor’s N stabilizer. We were hesitant to switch to NutriSphere-N without a comparison, so we put together a test plot to see which product showed the biggest advantage.

We added the competitor’s N stabilizer to our urea and applied it on an irrigated field. The corn was planted at a population of 33,000 plants per acre with 30" centers. We applied a total of 205 units of N per acre to feed the size of the plant population. The corn yielded an average of 196 bushels per acre.

To challenge that product’s performance, we applied 130 units of urea treated with NutiSphere-N at top-dress to dryland fields, bringing our total amount of N applied to 190 units. The corn was planted at a population of 30,000 plants per acre with 30" centers. The weather forecast was showing rain and we were expecting a timely shower to soak in the applied fertilizer. To our dismay, we didn’t get a rain for at least 14 days. I was greatly concerned and thought to myself, “Is this NutriSphere-N going to perform as advertised?”

After two weeks we finally received ample rain and were amazed at the results we saw. Where Nutrisphere-N treated urea was applied, the corn showed more vigor, stronger stalks and had a better stand in the field. The ears were fuller than the ears in the irrigated field where the competitor's product was applied. The non-irrigated fields where NutriSphere-N treated urea was applied yielded an average of 219 bushels per acre - out-performing the competitor’s product performance by 23 bushels per acre on average. Based on the results I’ve seen in my own fields, I definitely plan on using NutriSphere-N in the future.

Sharing wisdom with fellow growers

All in all, I’ve learned that taking the wisdom of those who have years of experience in agriculture and applying that knowledge with today's technology has proven to be highly successful for our operation.  You don't always have to have the biggest, newest and brightest piece of equipment in the field. You just have to have equipment that works. Much research can be done via the internet. Once the research is done, it is best to put your boots on, visit with people and ask questions to search out the best scenario and practices for your operation. Usually those folks who are willing to sit down and discuss with you options concerning your operation are the ones that have the greatest knowledge and make the largest impact on your success.

In conclusion, I would like to share some of the wisdom I have gained through experience with fellow growers everywhere -

1. God has blessed each one of us with certain gifts and talents. It is our duty to use them to the utmost of our abilities in praise to His name.
2. Have patience. You don't always hit a home run in agriculture.
3. You've only got one shot each growing season, so do your best to make the most of it.
4. The pendulum swings to the good times and to the bad. When it swings to the bad, hang on. It will swing back!