In the News - May 2008
Homespun advice from a veteran county agent
Getting something for nearly nothing
BENTONVILLE, Ark. - It's human nature to cut corners and the high price of
agriculture inputs has everyone in that mode. I can't fault the urge to stay in
the cost-cutting mode 365 days a year.
One lesson covered in 4-H livestock project work is, "How to Read a Feed
Tag." In pesticide training classes, we review "How to Read a Pesticide Label."
I've never been involved in a project or class where we cover "How to Calculate
Fertilizer Products."
I remember when liquid garden fertilizer products hit the market and
questions poured in by the hundreds. The label indicated there wasn't enough
plant food in the products to scare a cat! In addition, the price, calculated
per nutrient against standard garden fertilizer products, would have caused most
gardeners to back off.
However, the marketing gurus hit a grand-slam home run with popular and
beautiful TV commercials and magazine ads. Folks couldn't wait to get outside to
make bi-weekly, water-based applications. They also replicated other aspects of
the ads and the results were phenomenal!
If gardeners had been fertilizing properly, watering and monitoring plants on
schedule, as encouraged by this new routine, production would have been equally
impressive. However, you learn not to get in front of a fast moving truck.
The truth of the matter is that people were relearning how to enjoy and reap
the full benefits of gardening by the square foot. Cost was not the issue and it
shouldn't be, even today.
Commercial agriculture is another story. As fertilizer prices escalate,
products are being promoted as low-rate problem solvers. If nutrient content is
calculated, the cost is nowhere near being advantageous. Any concern about
proven research comparisons has been thrown out the window.
Producers simply need to calculate the amount and price per major nutrient
being recommended per acre. At that point, two things may become obvious. The
nutrient price is outrageous, and the recommended rate per acre will not even
prime the pump.
One advantage of having good soil moisture, in regards to forage production,
is that we should produce significant yields even without fertilizer
applications. In Bermuda demonstrations completed in 1992 and 2004, both decent
moisture years, our "check" plots averaged 3.75 tons of hay per acre. If, by
chance, I had treated those plots with stump water and touted the results, I
might have made a fortune.
I guess the best advice on attending some meetings is to take your
calculator, but leave the check book at home. Til' next week!
For more information on fertilizers, contact your county extension agent or
visit www.uaex.edu. The
Cooperative Extension Services is part of the U of A Division of Agriculture.
May 2, 2008
By: Robert Seay
Benton County Extension Agent Staff Chair
Media Contact: Lamar James
Extension Communications Specialist
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2187 or (501) 753-0207
ljames@uaex.edu
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