Agronomist Notes

Hello Reader

G’Day from Down Under! I apologize for the publication delay. It’s been a struggle to adjust to the time change and the busy schedule this time around. I finished my second of nine presentations and today I’m off to the next town for the second event.

Urea prices continue to jump with the last quoted price around $700 a tonne. Steady natural gas prices and slumping commodity prices has me a bit baffled as to why. Hello pulse crops!

This week we’ll take another look at the potential for volatilization losses from shallow banded urea. Next, we’ll look at a unique business model that connects farmers directly to processors and buyers in Dubai and the Middle East. Last, I’ve included my presentation for my upcoming GRDC keynotes so you know what I’m talking about here with the Aussies. As always we’ll finish with technical grain market news.

Have a great week.


 
Pictured above: My buddy, Andrew Newell and I stopped in at Bells Beach, Victoria, made popular by the movie Point Break in the 90’s. Check that off my bucket list!

How much nitrogen are we losing with shallow banded urea?

Low draft openers called into question on nitrogen use efficiency

The majority of producers in Western Canada use low draft, double shoot openers in no-till farming. Low draft, double shoot openers are different than conventional double shoot openers because they separate nitrogen and seed horizontally rather than vertically. With conventional double shoot openers, nitrogen used to be placed roughly 2 to 3 inches below and to the side of the seed. Today’s low draft openers place nitrogen just 3/4 to 1.5 inches below the seed and use ¾ inch of horizontal separation to reduce seed burn from high nitrogen rates. Ag Canada research published in 2010 suggested we could be losing up to 35% of the nitrogen we apply to volatilization when we band urea at depths of 1 inch or less.

The chart you see here is research by Dr. Phillip Rochette from Ag Canada in Quebec and shows the amount of nitrogen lost as NH3 when banded at depths of 0 cm, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 cm depths. You can see that up to 50% of the urea is lost when applied at the surface, 35% is lost when banded at 2.5 cm or 1 inch and falls below 5% NH3 loss when banded at 5 cm deep or 2 inches. Dr. Rochette revealed that the process of hydrolysis increases the pH in the soil around the urea, which in turn increases the amount of NH3 present in the soil, even in acid soils below a pH of 6.

To explain hydrolysis, in a nutshell, here is what’s happening to urea when banded in the soil at 1 inch or less with a low draft opener:

1. Urea is banded beside and slightly below the seed at a depth of approximately 1 inch.
2. Urease enzymes help break down urea to ammonia (NH3) in a process called hydrolysis.
3. The process of hydrolysis consumes a hydrogen ion, which increases the pH of the soil around the band of urea.
4. The pH of the soil remains elevated around the urea band for up to 25 days.
5. The balance of nitrogen in the soil shifts towards ammonia at high pHs and makes shallow banded urea at risk of volatilization even though it is placed in the soil.
6. NH3 escapes through the highly porous layer of topsoil found in the top inch of soil.

If these results are occurring with our very common low draft, shallow banded urea openers, we could be looking at losses of up to 30% of what we apply. It may not be that high in our soils in Western Canada but at $65.00 an acre in nitrogen costs we better be sure we’re not throwing $22.00 of it out the window as well as the yield and protein that goes with it.

There are two solutions to prevent volatilization from banded urea. One is to place urea below two inches deep. The other is to apply Agrotain to urea to slow hydrolysis down and prevent the spike in pH that increases volatilization. Earl Greenhough, from Koch Fertilizer Canada gives a great summary with a demo on shallow banded urea. See youtube video here.

I can’t attest the extent of nitrogen volatilization with low draft openers in our soils but this research has me questioning the low draft opener’s effectiveness. With increasing nitrogen prices, we must constantly re-evaluate the way we apply nitrogen. SL

To see Dr Phillip Rochette’s presentation click here. 

Chart: Rochette et al. 2010

Connecting Canadian farms directly to end users

A new business model called Agriprocity

I sat in on a presentation at FarmTech delivered by Nicole Rogers, a former international trade commissioner for Agriculture Canada in Dubai. In her role as trade commissioner, she saw a need to connect end users in Dubai who import a tremendous amount of wheat, barley, canola, peas, lentils and faba beans.

At this point the goal is to find farmers interested in committing 10% of their production to start building the relationships, trust and work out pricing and logistics. This model virtually eliminates the profit taken by the middle man. More importantly, the deals are structured to guarantee a profitable net margin to the farmer. The contracts are not based on yield and price. The deals are based on production and each individual’s predetermined net margin requirements.

Here are the details:

• Population of the Middle East and North Africa is 517 million people
• 90% of their food is imported so securing inputs is a big deal
• Canada offers market stability, production capabilities and a good reputation for honoring their deals
• Processors in Dubai crush 3,200 metric tonne of canola a day!
• Opportunity for farmers is to secure long-term revenue based on profit not price and allow better forward planning
• Opportunity for processors is the security of inputs, communication with farmers and future planning
• To start, Agriprocity is only looking for 200 farms that are willing to commit 10% of their production.

If you want to learn more check out their web page. This type of deal structure is just what farmers are looking for. Reduce the take of the middle man, connect the processor with the supplier and lock in profitable margins so proper crop rotations can be followed instead of relying on market price signals. If you wish to learn more, contact Nicole Rogers directly at nrogers@agriprocity.com

To see a copy of Nicole’s presentation click here.

What I’m presenting at the GRDC updates

The Grains Research & Development Corporation brought me over to Australia to speak to growers and advisors at their annual Victoria and New South Wales updates. I presented how we implement CTF, improve nitrogen use efficiency with side dress nitrogen and GreenSeeker technology and manage abiotic stresses. Have a look at my presentation to see the details and photos on what I presented.

Key Points:

• We spend most of our energy on managing biotic stresses like weeds, insects and disease which reduce yield potential on average by 10%.
• Abiotic stresses account for up to 70% in lost yield potential yet we ignore how to build farming systems to address abiotic stress.
• Everybody wants a solution in a bottle, jug or bag of GM seed to address abiotic stress like drought, flooding, salt tolerance, heat, nutrients.
• We can’t control heat, rainfall, sunlight but we can build farming systems that reduce the impact of those stresses.
• The nitrogen side dress toolbar in narrow row cereals has the potential to increase nitrogen use efficiency by applying nitrogen in the right form, right time, right place without relying on rainfall for effectiveness.
• GreenSeeker technology provides the imagery needed to ground truth fields real time rather than rely on historical imagery, yield and EM maps after harvest. Looking back on the past does little good to address in-season issues.
• Field scale GreenSeeker research showed a 6-15% increase in nitrogen use efficiency in wheat and canola with streamer nozzles and liquid nitrogen 28-0-0. N-use efficiency gains were made even with a surface application.
• Marrying the side dress toolbar with the GreenSeeker fills in the gap to tell us where and how much nitrogen to apply.

I’ve had a great time so far presenting at these updates and I’m learning more each day. I’ll be sure to keep you informed of my findings in the coming weeks. SL

Speaking Event Schedule

My winter speaking schedule is below. Maybe we’ll have a chance to catch up if you’re attending one of these events.  

GRDC Update: Ballarat, Victoria, Feb 5
GRDC Update: Lake Bolac, Victoria, Feb 6, 7
ORM Meeting: Lake Bolac, Victoria, Feb 7
GRDC Advisor Update: Temora, New South Wales, Feb 11
GRDC Update: Corowa, New South Wales, Feb 12,13

Market News

Canola Nov 14: The long and short term trends are down.

 

HRS Wheat: Dec 14: The long and short term trends are down. 

 

Corn Dec 13: The long term trend is down and the short tem trend is up.



Soybeans: Nov 14: The long and the short term trends are down.

 

Canadian $: Feb 14: The long and short term trends are down.

 

USD: Feb 14: The long term trend is down and the short term trend is up.