ASHLAND — The Ashland Soil and Water Conservation District will host a meeting in January aimed at how farmers can combat rising fertilizer prices.
The Ashland SWCD’s monthly conservation chat, dubbed “Show me the Money,” takes place at noon on Jan. 25 at the district’s office, 1763 OH-60.
The free event will include lunch and feature speakers from Nutrien Ag Solutions, a crop inputs retailer. The agronomists will speak about “fertilizer pricing, access, availability and recommendations that they are making to farmers on how to make the most of their nutrient dollars,” said a news release about the event.
Kip Studer, a Western Lake Erie Basin Management Specialist with the Ohio Department of Agriculture, will also speak during the event.
Studer will speak to the importance of making nutrient management plans in order to pivot in times of astronomical increases to the cost of farming.
All major crop production nutrients have experienced increased prices when compared to September 2020, said an analysis by the American Farm Bureau Federation.
The analysis said ammonia has increased 210%; liquid nitrogen has increase 159%; urea is up 155%; MAP is up 125%; DAP is up over 100% and potash has risen more than 134%.
Supply chain disruptions have affected nearly every part of the economy — including fertilizer production, transportation and retail distribution.
“Many farmers feel these rising input prices are taking away all the momentum provided by the higher commodity prices that were going to help them break even or be just above the bottom line,” said Shelby Myers and Veronica Night, economists with AFBF who authored the analysis.
Jane Houin, Ashland SWCD’s director, said the conservancy district offers soil testing to farmers and guidance on how to make a nutrient management plan.
“The foundation of really identifying what your nutrient needs are is a good, current soil test and a nutrient management plan,” Houin said.
Houin hopes January event will give local farmers the opportunity to strategize ways to better their bottom lines going into the next growing season. But she’s also focused on protecting the environment.
To that end, there will also be information on five “precision conservation crop and nutrient modeling tools.” Farmers will get an overview of TruTerra Insights Engine, the FieldPrint calculator, AdaptN nitrogen model, Field Forecasting Tool and On Field Ohio.
“They’ll have an in-depth look at how those models can work together to maximize their fertilizer’s return on investment and improve their return on investment,” Houin said.
The Jan. 25 event is free, but registration is required. For more information, visit the conservancy district’s website or call 419-281-7645.
