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Fall Fertilization

Elemental Sulfur

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Federated Agronomist for one of these great events:

Tuesday, Aug. 25

Isanti - Paul & Janet Bostrom

Wednesday, Aug. 26

Ogilvie - Steffen Farms

Thursday, Aug. 27

Rush City - Nathan Nelson

Friday, Aug. 28

Rush City - Cramaur Farm

Tuesday, Sept. 1

Albertville - Lenneman Farms

Wednesday, Sept. 2

Ogilvie - Larry & Sharon Wilhelm

News and information will be presented on the following topics.

Xtend™ soybean herbicide and herbicide system (by Monsanto)
Acuron™ and Acuron Flexi® corn herbicide (by Syngenta)
Federated's new dry fertilizer micronutrient mix
Fall fertilizer update

August 25, 2015

Solid Fall Agronomic Decision-Making:

SOIL SAMPLING LEADS THE WAY

FALL FERTILIZATION

Summer Lingers as Fall Plans Take Shape

The nutrients in the soil this summer will soon be a thing of the past as harvest nears. That means it's time to plan for fall fertilization, and there are no two ways about it, according to Craig Loen, Federated agronomist at the Osceola location: "Always work off a soil sample that is no more than four years old."

Grid and composite soil samples take up to seven days to get results back from the lab, so plan accordingly. Federated can do the sampling, or growers can do it themselves, but it's important not to miss this important step.

"Composite soil samples are inexpensive when you weigh it against the

information they provide," said Loen.

"Grid sampling (in 2.5 ac. Grids)," on the other hand, said Loen, "is an excellent way to determine nutrient needs across the field, and you can see the variability of nutrients."

Fall is an excellent time to fertilize with ag lime (pH), phosphorous (P), potash (K), and elemental sulfur (see adjacent article). With grid sampling, these products can be applied with variable rate technology (VRT) to maximize their effectiveness. Up to two products can be applied simultaneously with VRT.

The best time for fertilization in the fall is as soon as the crop is removed and prior to tillage. "We want to have the fertilizers incorporated into the soil to prevent movement from rain, snow, and melting," said Loen. P, K, ag lime, and elemental sulfur move very little in the soil profile; tillage helps to break them down to the nutrients are available for plants in the spring.

Fall is also the ideal time for other reasons:

Fall fertilization helps lighten your load for spring field preparations and planting.
Fall application allows you to plant when the conditions are right -- no need to wait until you get the fertilizer applied. You can side dress N after planting.

Contact your Federated Agronomist with any questions about fall fertilization or to schedule soil sampling. Don't miss the opportunity to nourish the soil for next season's crops.

Today's Elemental Sulfur Differs

from Products of Years Gone By

Sulfur (S) is #4 on the most-important-nutrient list for most crops in Federated's service area, sitting behind 1) nitrogen, 2) potassium, and 3) phosphorus.

"Sulfur is important for fixing nitrogen in the soil," said John Swanson, Federated agronomist at the Ogilvie location. "Sulfur enhances nitrogen use efficiency, and it is essential for protein synthesis. It also improves the availability of phosphorus and some micronutrients," he added.

Combat sulfur deficiencies in corn next spring by applying fertilizer this fall.

It's for these reasons, according to Swanson, that growers should not forget about sulfur when planning fall fertilization (see article above for additional info).

Since plants take up sulfur in the sulfate form and sulfate is extremely leachable, it's easy to wonder how S can be applied effectively in the fall. "The answer is elemental sulfur," said Swanson. It is a highly concentrated form of sulfur (90%) that is both economical and efficient.

Swanson further explained: "Elemental sulfur is a slow release form of sulfur that we can use as a percentage of our sulfur program, but it is important to only use it as a percentage (35-50%) of the total S program. The crops still need the highly available sulfate form as well, as crops can take sulfur up faster than elemental sulfur will release."

Elemental sulfur has been too slow to break down in the past, but the industry has improved this product, and today's elemental sulfur is a sulfur-bentonite combination that degrades much more readily [than the old versions] when it contacts soil moisture, which allows it to be oxidized to the sulfate form of sulfur much quicker.

This new-and-improved elemental sulfur offers a slow-release form of sulfur that growers can count on throughout the season, but yet it becomes plant available quickly enough to be effective early on.

"As you go forward with your fall fertilizer plans, consider adding elemental (slow release) sulfur to your plans. It will give you a more balanced approach to sulfur fertilization. And as always, contact your local Federated Agronomist with any questions," said Swanson.

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