crop profitability

[dfarms11]

What does everyone here use for rates of fert. and figure they are profitable. We usually put around 80lbs of N with the proper amount of PKS to go with it. In a year like last, I don't know if we should continue with those levels with fert and grain prices where they are!

[nw9flynn]

What soil zone do you farm in and what has been your crop rotation? What crop are you fertilizing?

[lakenheath]

That seems hight to me. Do you soil test?

[dfarms11]

planting wheat and canola. some wheat on wheat, wheat on canola and canola on wheat.
black soil zone, Camrose NE

[dfarms11]

planning to soil test this spring but don't expect there to be a lot of N left in the ground after taking off avg 50 bu feed wheat and 50 bu #3 canola.
Really sucks, if everything went #1, I wouldn't be worrying at all, but with these poor grades and prices, income is half of what it should be.

[Ron]

Soil tested in late Oct, dont remember the exact #'s but I winced and put them away untill April when I hope N is cheaper. The huge crop (80 bu FEED wheat) sure used a lot. 80 bu/ac*$2/bu=-$50/ac (cash costs only)
We are going to have a nasty surprize when the tests come back.

[ALLFARMER]

Do a soil test now: Take a cordless drill with a wide wood bit on it. Avoid the spring rush!

[sawfly]

we are in dk brown zone 5 miles from black
generally ran with 50 lbs N 15-20 p on cerals little more n on canola with 8 lb sulfer

this sping tests called for 40 to 50, only put on 30 -35, after the year befores 15.5 protien feed wheat

just did 3 tests this fall, thought they would call for 70 -80 n

suprizeingly
the wht. stub has 29 lbs calling for 40-50 for 30 bush canola

the canola stubble has 23 calling for 55-65 for 41 bush. wheat
50% hailed wheat calling for 30 n

will run with 30-40n 15 p if n stays real high

generally highest targets on most of our land calls for 20 p

is it just me or do you have trouble finding studies that show p is any more than a break even proposition ?

[poorboy]

Sawfly,

What part of the prairies are you from? I would assume that more southern warmer areas would have a lot more N mineralized than more northern locations.

I live around Drumheller, in the dk brown soil zone and applied 80n-27p on my canola and pea stubble and my superb wheat yielded 55-60 bus/ac with 12.5-13.5 protein. Did not soil test this fall, but tests in spring of 05 showed only 10lb N/ac. I have been applying 80N for a long time. Soil P tests always come in low and call for 25-50 lbs/ac, but that is very expensive. I farm a heavy clay soil that is usually very high in K and lots of S in the subsoil.

Curious as to what volume of crop and protein that you harvested in 05. I have been in zero till now for about 5 years and am wondering if I could start to cut back on my N rates soon. I was told that more N was needed in first years of zero till and the soil tests were not all that accurate.

[sawfly]

poorboy

we are about 300 miles NE of you, west central SK

we have been no till continuis since 91

soils are clay-loam ,loam, and some loamy beach sand

avalible s runs 30-90 K - 550-1200

05 wheat yeilds 35-43 12.5- 13 .5 protien No. 2 3
canola low 30s
was too cold for the wheat, little short of n too, canola could have used more n p s
in this country i dont mind pouring n to early seeded canola, but 60 -70 n in the wheat can get trouble with maturity
as for the no till benifit, its a lot harder to pick out a fert miss from the road than it used to be. but you will see it wiyh the combine
I tend to beleive the soil tests,what i can afford is another story