Fall 2014 interactive

FERTILIZER Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizers

Fall/Winter 2014

Feature Story:

Full Circle Agriculture at Circle Hill Farms

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Do The Math Owner’s Manual: The Soil Test Markets & Psychological Ups and Downs J.W.’s Cowboy Kitchen Ag Economy Outlook: 2015

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IMPROVE FERTILITY AND MORE ON YOUR FARM. SEE BRIAN AND DARREN HEFTY AT A FREE AG PHD EVENT THIS WINTER!

Ag PhD Agronomy Workshops How do you make next year's crop the best you've ever raised? Learn more about management practices to maximize plant health and profit on your farm, even with lower commodity prices.

Attend a FREE Ag PhD Agronomy Workshop this winter!

Tuesday, January 6, 2015 – Grand Forks, ND – Alerus Center (10:15 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)

Wednesday, January 7, 2015 – Waterloo, IA – Ramada (10:15 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)

Friday, January 9, 2015 – Mankato, MN – Verizon Center (10:15 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)

Tuesday, January 13, 2015 – Huron, SD – Convention Center (10:15 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)

Wednesday, January 14, 2015 – Carbondale, IL – SIUC Student Center (10:15 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)

Thursday, January 15, 2015 – Williston, ND – Grand Williston Hotel (9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.)

Thursday, January 15, 2015 – Bismarck, ND – Radisson (1:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.)

Tuesday, January 20, 2015 – Great Falls, MT – Hilton Garden Inn (8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.)

Thursday, January 22, 2015 – Fort Ransom, ND – Titan Learning Center (10:15 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)

Friday, January 23, 2015 – Granite Falls, MN – Prairie’s Edge Casino (10:15 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)

Tuesday, January 27, 2015 – Chamberlain, SD – Cedar Shores (10:15 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)

Wednesday, January 28, 2015 – Northwood, IA – Diamond Jo (10:15 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)

Ag PhD TILING CLINICS Water management and proper drainage are among the most important factors in raising a healthy, high-yielding crop. Whether you’ve been tiling for years or just starting out, we have breakout sessions with information for you!

Wednesday, March 4, 2015 – Brookings, SD – Swiftel Center (9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)

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Get Free Agronomy Info from Brian and Darren Hefty at an Ag PhD Event Near You This Winter.

Ag PhD SOILS CLINICS Your soil is your farm’s greatest resource. Don’t treat it like dirt!

We will teach you how to read each and every detail on a soil test, how it applies to you, and what you can do to fix the issues you’ve got. We also want you to BRING YOUR OWN SOIL TESTS. Register for a FREE Ag PhD Soils Clinic near you!

Thursday, January 29, 2015 – Watertown, SD – Convention Center (9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)

Tuesday, February 3, 2015 – Grand Forks, ND – Alerus Center (9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)

Tuesday, February 10, 2015 – West Point, NE – Nielsen Center (9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)

Wednesday, February 11, 2015 – Spokane, WA – Northern Quest (11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)

Thursday, February 17, 2015 – Morton, MN – Jackpot Junction (9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)

Thursday, February 19, 2015 – Sikeston, MO – Miner Convention Center (9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)

Tuesday, February 24, 2015 – Twin Falls, ID – Canyon Crest (9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.)

More information and registration FOR ALL EVENTS at www.agphd.com FERTILIZER MAGAZINE

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INSIDE

Fertilizer Magazine Fall/Winter 2014 pg. 13 < < < < < <

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Letter from the Editor

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Doing The Math

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Ownerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Manual: The Soil Test

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Ag Economy Outlook: 2015

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Full Circle Agriculture

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J.W.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cowboy Kitchen

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Purchasing in Tough Markets

Soil sample testing and rate recommendations.

> > > > > > pg. 30 Six delicious holiday recipes from J.W. Lemons.

pg. 20 < < < < < < Circle Hill Farms practices full circle agriculture in Central Iowa. From fertilizer to corn to turkey.

Fertilizer Magazine serves the diverse business, production, and lifestyle needs of families who make farming and ranching their business. Our passion is to help you make money, save time, and grow your satisfaction. Fertilizer Magazine is a proud product of Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizers.

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Letter from the Editor

Albert Bancroft,

Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizers Marketing Department Manager Fertilizer is a term that can be applied to many situations. Some people spread a lot of fertilizer and it has nothing to do with agriculture at all. Fertilizer is, “a substance that is added to soil to help the growth of plants.” There’s a misconception that all fertilizers are the same, just in different states, dry, liquid or gas.

For decades, both agriculture technology and our understanding of soil to plant interactions have progressed. It may be easier to spread dry fertilizer or conventional liquids, but science has proven there are better products and application methods.

It is my objective to educate and inform about different fertilizer types, uses, and technologies.

All fertilizers are not created equal and through innovative manufacturing processes companies have found ways to produce products that the plant can utilize more effectively. Understanding different physiological actions taking place in the soil and recognizing the actions that specifically happen because of fertilizer is crucial to understanding the opportunities that proper fertility provides.

Fertilizer can be categorized into primary, secondary and micronutrients. Most people can relate to Centrum’s vitamin commercials; from A to Zinc. However, unlike Centrum there isn’t one pill to cover the plant’s needs. They also need three primary nutrients: nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus.

Nitrogen is naturally found in the atmosphere. As yields have increased, the plant requires a larger amount of nitrogen than the air or soil provides.

Nitrogen has to be captured and converted into a form the plant can absorb.

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Potassium is something we can all relate to as it is important to keep our body functioning properly.

The third primary nutrient is phosphorus. Mined as a rock, it starts life as dry fertilizer, and can then be converted into liquid.

When it comes to micronutrients, they can potentially maximize yields and are often forgotten about because of typically low use rates. Back to the Centrum analogy, small volumes of micronutrients present opportunity to make primary and secondary nutrients more effective.

However, micronutrients require soil tests to properly prescribe. From A to Zinc isn’t a bad analogy for micronutrients; they include boron(B), chlorine(Cl), copper(Cu), iron(Fe), manganese(Mn), molybdenum(Mo), nickel(Ni) and yes, even zinc(Zn).

Those are becoming common in fertilizer programs.

This leaves us secondary nutrients. Some people group micronutrients and secondary nutrients, but I tend to agree with The Fertilizer Institute which groups them separately. Secondary nutrients include calcium(Ca), magnesium(M) and sulfur(S).

Even though they are classified separately they play an equally important role in crop production as the rest.

The law of minimums really illustrates the necessity of micro and secondary nutrients. Justus Von Liebig, in the early 1800s, used a barrel to help demostrate how one nutrient can hold everything back. Old wooden barrels had staves, if one is lower than the rest, the barrel cannot be filled up past that point. Your soil is the same, no matter how much nitrogen and phosphate you apply you cannot fill the barrel beyond the most limiting nutrient, even if it’s micro or secondary nutrient, resulting in limited yield potentional. The Fertilizer Institute is a great resource for understanding these elements and can be found at www.tfi.org

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The amount of feed it takes to raise a 30 pound tom turkey...

75-80 POUNDS

National Thanksgiving Leaders

Minnesota

Wisconsin

205 MILLION 8

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10.6 POUNDS MILLION

6.02 BARRELS MILLION

47 MILLION

North Carolina

The United States produced 26.5 million pounds of sweet potatoes in 2012. Last year North Carolina led by producing almost half of the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sweet potatoes.

$385.5 MILLION In 2013, there were 205 million turkeys raised in the United States.

Minnesota led the nation by raising 21.5% of all turkeys or about 47 million.

26.5 MILLION

In 2012, the value of cranberry production reached over $385,500,000. Over half of those were raised in Wisconsin.

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FERTILIZER

DOING THE MATH By: Dr. Jerry Wilhm

Agronomy professionals can talk all day about a variety of the technical aspects involved in farming and growing crops.

And many of them do, even me, or so I’ve been told. And when doing so, most assume that the audience is up to speed on the basics on which the talks are built. But that is not always the case. Recently I was talking with some growers and dealers about the analysis of a blend of fertilizer products, when I realized that there was some confusion on what exactly those numbers meant.

Look at any bag, jug or fertilizer label, and you will see 3 numbers separated by hyphens; these numbers represent nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content. Some fertilizers have more than three numbers, and in those cases the extra numbers 10 FERTILIZER MAGAZINE

represent other nutrients, but since the majority of labels feature just those three we’ll keep our focus on them for this article. In any case, it doesn’t matter if it is liquid or dry fertilizer, as the numbers represent the percent by weight of each nutrient the product contains.

Analysis.) While modern analytical techniques are used to determine fertilizer analysis today, the numbers are still in terms of the oxides for historical continuity. The complexity arises when you realize the oxides themselves are never actually found in fertilizer.

The words written on a label The first number, which for the elements of the three represents nitrogen, is pretty numbers are, “total nitrogen,” straightforward. Where it gets “available phosphate” and a little complicated are with the “soluble potash.” Since the second and third numbers which numbers represent percent by represent not just potassium and weight the conversion is easy phosphorous, but the oxides of for dry materials. One hundred those elements. This goes back pounds of 18-46-0 dry fertilizer to when fertilizers were heated has 18 pounds of total nitrogen with air to convert the phosphate (0.18 x 100 lb), 46 pounds of and potassium to oxides -available phosphate (0.46 x specifically P2O5 and K2O -- and 100 lb) and 0 pounds of soluble potash (0 x 100 lb). If you have these numbers were used for a blend of equal amounts of the nutrient analysis. (This was referred to as the Gravimetric 18-46-0 and 0-0-60, then the

resulting blend would have an analysis of 9-2330. Since the blend is half of each fertilizer product, the new analysis is simply the analysis numbers halved (divided by 2 or multiplied by 0.5) and added together. If the blended product is 75% 18-46-0 and 25% 0-0-60 the process is the same: multiply each of the numbers in 1846-0 by 0.75 and each of the numbers in 0-0-60 by 0.25 and add the corresponding numbers together to get 13.5-34.5-15. In which case, according to the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials (AAPFCO), the nitrogen number can be listed as 14% for commercial sales purposes.

Where the process of calculating the analysis of blends can get more confusing is with liquid fertilizers, where each product may not have the same weight per gallon.

Pro-Germinator 9-24-3 Guaranteed Analysis Total Nitrogen(N)

9.00%

Available Phosphate(P2O5) Soluble Potash(K2O) Iron(Fe)

24.00% 3.00% 0.10%

1.00% Nitrate Nitrogen 7.00% Ammoniacal Nitrogen 1.00% Urea Nitrogen

Derived from: Ammonium Nitrate, Ammonium Sulfate, Urea, Superphosphoric Acid, Tri-Potassium Polyphosphate, Ferrous Sulfate

Technical Data Net Weight: Bulk as Invoiced Weight Per Gallon lbs/gal @68o F Specific Gravity pH at 68o F Freezing Point

11.20 1.342 6.02 10o F

For instance, what is the analysis of a liquid fertilizer blend that is 75% ProGerminator 9-24-3 and 25% 2020-0-0 0-0 Ammonium Nitrate Solution?

AMMONIUM NITRATE SOLUTION Refer to the product labels for the needed information.

1. Composition:

Total Nitrogen (N).......................................................................... 20% 10% Ammoniacal Nitrogen 10% Nitrate Nitrogen 2. Weight per gallon at 68°F (20°C)...................................................10.53 lbs.

3. Pounds nitrogen per gallon....................................................................2.11 4. Gallons per to......................................................................................190.0 5. Pressure........................................................................................ 0 at 60°F 6. Volatility ...............................................................................................None 7. pH ..........................................................................................................6.5 8. Salting out temperature........................................................................42°F

Step 1.

Determine the weight of each product in 1 gallon of the blend: 75% 9-24-3: 11.2 lb/gal x 75% = 8.4 lb 25% 20-0-0: 10.53 lb/gal x 25% = 2.63 lb Weight of 1 gallon of the blend = 11.03 lb

Step 2. Determine the amounts of N – P2O5 – K2O from each product in the 1 gallon blend: 9-24-3: 8.4 lb x 9% = 0.75 lb N 8.4 lb x 24% = 2 lb P2O5 8.4 lb x 3% = 0.25 lb K2O FERTILIZER MAGAZINE

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20-0-0: 2.63 lb x 20% = 0.53 lb N (there is no phosphate or soluble potash in this product)

Step 3. Add the numbers for each nutrient from the two products together: N: 0.75 lb + 0.53 lb = 1.28 lb P2O5: 2 lb K2O: 0.25 lb Step 4. Determine the nutrient percentages per gallon. (The gallon weighs 11.03 lb)

N: 1.28 lb/11.03 lb = 0.116 or 11.6%. (According to AAPFCO this can be expressed as 12%) P2O5: 2 lb/11.03 lb = 0.18 or 18% K2O: 0.25 lb/11.03 lb = 0.02 or 2% So the new blended product has an analysis of 12-18-2.

Now there are certainly various other math or computer program pathways to this answer, but this is how it can be determined by hand. This is the percentage of nitrogen, phosphate and potash nutrients in an applied rate of fertilizer. The same process would apply to other nutrients such as sulfur that are on the label.

For here we can figure actual pounds per acre applied by mulitplying the number of gallons (in this case 11.035.) Then multiply this number times the percentages of nutrients, in decimal form.

Owner’s Manual:

The Soil Test

Assembly Required: Soil Test Instructions By: Reid Abbott

In my house, two words — “assembly required” — have come close to ruining more Christmas mornings than the Grinch himself. For many growers it seems the words “fertility program” can cause as much anxiety as staring down a Barbie Dreamhouse box under the tree. One savior that occasionally graces us with its presence both on Christmas morning and in the field however, is a good set of instructions. The right manual can ease

the assembly process and increase the likelihood of a job well-done. When determining a fertility program, a soil sample report is that instruction manual and can very well keep you from running to the bowl of egg nog.

This year, two growers — one from Texas and another from Iowa — have agreed to let us take a look at their instruction manuals. I’ll talk about the components of a good soil sample, and then turn this article over to Clint Walker and Aarron Stahl who will both get down to the nitty gritty details of recommending a nutrition plan for each of the fields profiled.

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Upon first glance, a complete soil sample report can look like something a nuclear engineer carries in his briefcase. However, when each component is broken down, a picture of the soil conditions and needs start to come together. Organic matter percentage, cation exchange capacity, pH and base saturation percentages should be included on any standard soil test and are key to understanding the physical and chemical characteristics of a soil.

Organic matter percentage gives a grower an idea of the overall health of his soil as well as a rough estimate of certain naturally occurring nutrient releases (such as nitrogen) throughout the growing season. Cation exchange capacity (CEC) indicates the nutrient holding capacity of a soil and to an extent the soil’s texture. As many are aware, the pH measures the hydrogen ion concentration (or acidity) of a soil. This value can give a grower insight in to how available (or unavailable) essential plant nutrients are in the soil. Finally, the base saturation percentages quantify the relationship between calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), hydrogen (H) and sodium (Na) in the soil.

Depending on how these nutrients align with each other can widely affect the soil’s physical and chemical properties, nutrient interactions and a crop’s success. Agronomists use these values plus the soil’s CEC and pH when recommending soil amendments to determine the type of product (lime, gypsum, etc) and amount to be used to correct an imbalance in the soil.

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After determining the opportunities and limitations due to the soil’s properties as discussed previously, a grower can accurately predict a yield goal and look to the individual nutrient levels to further develop a fertility program. On a soil sample report, individual nutrients are generally reported in parts per million (ppm). Multiplying the values by a factor of 2 gives a unit of pounds per acre (lbs/A) which more easily correlates with application recommendations. In the case of nitrogen (N), a recommendation simply comes from the crop’s needs (based off yield goal) minus the N present in the soil (according to the soil test). Loss factors based on application options and climate must also be calculated when recommending N, but by in large, it is a fairly straightforward nutrient to recommend based off a soil test. In contrast however, due to the unique nature of phosphorus (P) and its habit of tying up in the soil, different tests and considerations must be taken into account.

Bray1 and Bray2 P tests indicate readily available and slowly available P, respectively, in neutral and acidic soils. If the soil has a high pH, a bicarbonate test is performed to more accurately demonstrate available P levels.

Also, phosphorus (P) can be affected by other nutrients such as zinc (Zn). For instance, high and low Zn levels each offer their own challenges for phosphorus efficiency in the soil and the plant. It is somewhat of a case of science meets gut-feeling when it comes to recommending phosphorus.

Likewise, K is challenging because many variables have to be taken into account. For example, high Mg and Na saturations can negatively impact K

efficiency and with low CECs, a soil’s ability to hold on to applied K is diminished.

Secondary and micronutrients are just as critical as the three macronutrients but are used by plants in much lower quantities.

Regardless, they still require their own balance to function properly and for a crop to succeed.

Paying careful attention to soil test levels, crop needs, nutrient interactions, and application options of secondary and micronutrients can produce big rewards at harvest.

When it comes to a proper fertility program, there will always be some “assembly required.” However, just as you would gather tools and instructions to put together a new Barbie Dreamhouse, obtaining a complete soil analysis and some trusted advice will ease the pain and set your farm on track for a successful year.

Iowa Corn-on-Corn By: Aarron Stahl

We are planning this next year’s crop inputs for the field represented in the above sample, which has been corn on corn for many years. Jay is a customer that gets his excellent recommendations from Steve Darrington of Agmerica Northeast in Northeast Iowa and Southeast Minnesota. He has been a long term customer who has allowed us to work with

him on amending his soils and balancing his crop nutrition to achieve his desired yields. When we began working with Jay, he had some concerns about why his yields were going down. We requested that he start pulling samples on some of his trouble fields and obtain a complete soil test analysis. Most growers do not fully understand the value of this information, but Jay was very receptive to what we were requesting because he wanted to improve his yields.

Our starting point for next season is examining his calcium

(Ca), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), and hydrogen (H) levels; we want to develop a good foundation. Jay has had Mg levels pushing mid-twenties to low 30s in some cases so we know that nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) will be negatively affected by this situation. We have been amending this soil with with an economical application of 75 lbs of Tiger90 along with 150 lbs of 0-0-60.

The sulfur (S) will displace the Mg and allow us to offset that with some K. We have lowered the Mg levels to the upper teens and low 20s, as well as increased FERTILIZER MAGAZINE 15

his potassium levels in the process. Knowing that we need to focus on increasing Ca, the recommendation for this year is 1000 lbs/acre of gypsum along with 100 lbs of 0-0-60. The sulfur in the gypsum will replace previous applications of Tiger90 and its Ca content will help increase soil levels of this nutrient.

Next, we work on what Jay needs to get his crop off to a healthy, balanced start. Faced with this season’s economic realities, we’ll include 3 gallons/ acre of Pro-Germinator, a low rate that is based on the existing good P levels. We’ve added 0-0-60 as an amendment, but we still need to add Sure K as an available form of potassium (P) to feed the crop and 5 gallons/acre of this product will accomplish this. Now, onto his micro program. We will run a quart/acre of Micro 500, then prescriptively add a pint/acre each of copper (Cu) and boron (B) due to the low test levels.

As for meeting the nitrogen needs, we chose a multi-step approach. Jay is shooting for that 200210 lbs/acre of actual N. We will run High NRG-N at 10 gallons/acre 0x0, meaning streamed on the surface after the seed trench is closed. High NRG-N, with a lower loss potential, is an excellent choice for this type of application. As a part of his multi-faceted approach, Jay also likes to apply 10 gallons/acre of UAN with eNhance as a carrier for his pre-emergent weed program. Last, Jay will side-dress with a mix of High NRG-N and UAN that will give him a combination of slow release and quickly available N appropriate for his situation.

As you can see, we have a program built around the challenges faced by Jay; limitations indicated on the soil test, plant needs, and returns on investment based on current economics. Jay has been an excellent customer and has allowed us to work together as a team to help achieve his on farm goals. Next year will bring new opportunities that will be approached in the same manner.

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Texas Pasture By: Clint Walker

Dating back to the days of the cowboys, cattle drives and that wicked barbed wire, cattle have been an important part of the high plains region.

Today, a few things have changed but cattle grazing on grass and wheat pasture have not. As fall approaches and grass pastures go dormant, drilling wheat is a priority for the cattle producer.

Mike Shores had been unhappy with how his fertilizer program was working on his wheat pasture in the past. As any cattle producer knows, when the fertilizer program isn’t right it affects not just the pasture, but the livestock that graze it, too. Mike’s in the market for a better solution and allowed us to take a few soil samples so we could get a baseline to work from.

The soil analysis offered us a few different numbers to focus on. We noticed that the organic matter is over 3% which tells us that the overall health of the soil is very good. The added nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur that we get from having a higher organic matter can help in reducing input costs and also gives the crop additional nutrients. Phosphorus (P) is, in general, very adequate for our needs. The problem is that we have high magnesium which can cause P tie-up in the soil, rendering at least some of that phosphorous unavailable. To counteract that effect Mike can apply 3 gallons of Pro-Germinator.

Applying lime or gypsum to help increase the base saturation of calcium and reducing the percentage of magnesium (Mg) so that we can have more availability of the P will also help. The lime or gypsum rates we need here will be fairly high (1.5 to 2 tons) due to the CEC being in the 20’s. In this case, as the CEC increases there are more sites on the soil colloid that are occupied by Mg; it’ll take additional calcium (Ca) and elemental sulfur (S) to move the Mg off the soil particle.

Wheat pasture needs 100 pounds of nitrogen (N).

With the soil providing 30 pounds of N, we need to add an additional 70 pounds of nitrogen and we have a few application practices at our disposal to make that possible. Needed nitrogen could be applied through the drill, top-dressed or in a combination of both methods. Mike is only able to apply 10 gallons of total product per acre with his drill, so we’ll start with 3.75 gallons of High NRG-N. This will give us some nitrogen to get the plant started as well as a continuous feeding over the next few months. That application can then be followed up with a top dress application of an additional 50 pounds of Nitrogen with eNhance to keep the wheat growing strong and increasing the length of time that we can graze the cattle.

When we look at Potassium (K), the test shows that there should be enough in the soil to take care of the wheat but again, with the high CECs, we could have a problem with uptake. Adding 3 gallons of Kalibrate will ensure the crop has enough K available for uptake as well as providing

additional S; which, as we discussed earlier, will help move the magnesium (Mg) off the soil colloid and is needed in the crop.

Last, but not least, we’ll take a look at Mike’s micronutrient profile. Micronutrients are more important than the industry previously realized; an imbalance of micronutrients can even interfere with proper utilization of primary nutrients, leaving a crop lacking in more than one area. Adding 1 quart of Micro 500 will provide the equivalent of 2 pounds of Zinc (Z) as well as some manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu) and boron (B).

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ECONOMICUPDATE

The 2014 crop is “in the bank”.

What is your financial plan for 2015?

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Warren Graeff PNC Bank PNC Bank Agricultural Banking Market Manager

U.S. farmers produced a bumper crop in 2014. Prices declined in light of the increased supply. Did you lock in prices early in 2014, or did you wait until the crop was “in the bin”?

This one decision could impact working capital and 2015 crop financing plans. So what are the alternatives?

First, what is working capital and how much is enough? According to the Farm Financial Standards Council, Working Capital is the operating capital available in the short term from within the farming operation. Generally speaking, it is the cash that would be available from selling agricultural commodities (corn, soybeans, market livestock, etc.) produced from a farming operation, less any outstanding operating loans and bills (Total Current Farm Assets – Total Current Farm Liabilities).

How much working capital is enough is defined by comparing working capital to Gross Revenues (Working Capital / Gross Farm Income). This standard measures working capital against the size of a farming operation. General rules of thumb follow: • • •

Higher risk = less than 25% Normal risk = 25-40% Lower risk = greater than 40%

For assistance with these ratios, please see the Farm Financial Ratios and Guidelines material from the Farm Financial Standards Council, or contact a PNC Ag Banker at www.PNC.com/agriculture.

2015 crop financing plans could be impacted by risk level.

Farmers who fall in the normal to low risk range should have no trouble receiving an operating loan (crop input financing) from their bank, or can expect favorable input financing from their suppliers. Since these farmers have adequate working capital, they can expect favorable interest rates with flexible financing terms. Revolving credit, online banking, credit cards, debit cards, pay cards, remote deposit and other flexible financial services are readily available to facilitate effective cash flow management.

Farmers who fall in the higher risk range may experience challenges arranging 2015 crop financing or may have to pay higher interest rates for financing.

This is because they have less cash (liquidity) to invest in crop inputs and must borrow more money to cover operating expenses. This increased risk translates into (potentially) higher interest rates, less flexible loan terms, restrictive loan or trade credit, and less flexibility in general when managing the farming operation.

What are some options to limit debt and finance operating cash flow needs?

Farmers should consider limiting the amount of land owned as well as the debt that comes with it. Many times, the debt service on farm debt can be more expensive than renting land. Owning the land also locks in payment commitments. Land rent will normally adjust (over time) in line with income generated by the land. Think of lower cash rent in line with lower farm commodity prices.

Second, purchases for supplies and equipment should be kept to a bare minimum. Maximize the return on production expenses by posing a question: “If this additional $1 of expense is incurred, will it return more than $1?” Consider renting equipment or hiring someone to harvest. The significant costs of farm equipment means that the fixed cost must be spread out over many acres to be economically feasible. Another alternative is to collaborate on the purchase of equipment. Partner with other farmers to jointly own an expensive piece of equipment via a LLC, partnership, or other entity arrangement.

Financing annual operating needs can be sourced from multiple lenders. Consider family, landlords, suppliers and others who want to contribute to a business’s success. This can help strengthen relationships and can be more flexible than a formal operating loan.

The objective is to focus on the profitability of products. Reinvest profits back into the business in order to grow the business and manage debt.

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Full Circle Agriculture

at Circle Hill Farms By: Diana Prichard

When Noel Thompson’s father-in-law started raising turkeys back in the 1940’s the birds gained weight at a rate of just one pound per week. Today, Noel brings turkey poults from just a few ounces to over forty pounds in a mere nineteen weeks. “The reason turkeys are so big today is the capacity we’ve had to breed better turkeys,” said Thomspon, “We’re not moving genetics around like in corn plants, it’s just good genetic selection.”

Noel has raised turkeys in just about every production system you can imagine. He’s been at Circle Hill Farms since 1980, after he left his job as a High School English and Debate teacher to join his father-in-law and brother-in-law in the family operation. Noel recalls the days when they’d put the turkeys out on pastures, “We’d lose them to all kinds of predators and sometimes even the weather,” he said. “Having them in barns protects the birds and our investment. It’s a lot better for us and them.”

Today, Noel and brother-in-law Paul still run the operation together, bringing around

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700,000 heavy tom turkeys to market each year and farming, in Noel’s own words, “a couple thousand acres of corn.”

“We’re better at growing corn,” he added when we met on the back patio of his Iowa home earlier this year, explaining the pair’s choice to grow continuous corn rather than a rotation of crops.

The patio, outfitted with comfortable chairs and side tables, a spot where, I gathered, Noel has probably answered a lot of questions from reporters over the years, overlooks the Circle Hill Farms brooder barn and at least one rolling field of that corn.

Noel is currently serving a two-year term as President of the Iowa Turkey Federation, and he’s humble when asked about other positions he’s held; positions which include a seven year stint on the organization’s board, part owner of both a nearby feedmill and part owner of the processing plant where the turkeys from Circle Hill Farms meet their end.

“It had to be fifteen or sixteen years ago,” Noel said, when the processing plant which had served his farm and many others in the area decided to shut down. Faced with the loss of a market for their products, Noel banded together with other area turkey producers to buy and run the processing facility. Now named West Liberty Foods, it’s one of only two turkeyprocessing facilities in the state. The other, a 22

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Hillshire brand facility, was recently bought by Tyson. Of the approximately fifteen million turkeys processed in the state of Iowa each year. The West Liberty Foods facility processes about five million, and represents 130 turkey farmers, plus allied members. Every producer and allied member is important, says Noel, because everyone brings mutually beneficial relationships to the table.

Noel and the other producers who work with West Liberty Foods are a minority in today’s poultry industry; they aren’t contract growers. West Liberty Foods producers own the birds they raise, so those relationships – with each other and other vendors -- come in handy.

Noel’s turkeys come out of Minnesota, arriving on his farm as day-old poults.

They spend five weeks in the brooder barn behind the house and another 14 weeks in the turkey barns on one of Circle Hill Farms’ sites – all within a few miles of the main farm location – before being marketed at over forty pounds live weight and nineteen weeks of age.

Like most livestock, turkeys are grown on a grain diet that consists largely of corn, and in the case of Circle Hill Farms turkeys, it’s the same corn Noel grows in the fields around his home; corn that Noel says has been grown with the help of AgroCulture Liquid Fertilizers since the mid-1980’s,

SUPPORT THE TROOPS AT HOME. For many veterans, returning from a war zone means fighting a whole new war at home as they work to transition to civilian life. Operation Homefront aims to help soldiers and their families through that transition. For every gallon of fertilizer sold or shipped during the month of November, AgroLiquid will donate 1¢ to your regional Operation Homefront.

Get the full story at agroliquid.com.

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not long after AgroLiquid’s incorporation in 1983.

“It had to have been 1984 or ’85,” said Noel, “when we first tried [AgroLiquid.]” Back then, nitrogen was one of the first AgroLiquid nutrients Thompson tried and enhanced-efficiency HighNRG-N remains in his fertilizer program to this day.

“The nice thing about HighNRG-N,” said Thompson, “is that it’s really easy on the equipment.” The nitrogen combination isn’t as corrosive as conventional liquids and competitors’ products, which means it doesn’t ruin planters or storage tanks like those other products either. Less corrosion means less time and money spent repairing equipment both in and outside of the growing season, which has afforded Thompson time to focus on other areas of the operation.

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“When we tried a planter program for the first time about twenty years ago it made a big difference, too,” Noel added.

“We bought a new planter after we’d been using the planter program for a few years and didn’t put the equipment on it right away. We could tell the difference immediately. The plants didn’t emerge as well and we lost vigor.”

Thompson’s planter-time program has evolved over the years. These days he’s laying down a combination of ProGerminator, Sure-K, Sulfur and Manganese.

Circle Hill Farms participates in the state of Iowa’s conservation reserve program in their highly erodible fields and Thompson doesn’t hesitate when asked about their use of conservation management techniques such as grass waterways. “Yes, of course we have grass waterways,” he says, “You have to. It’s the right thing to do.”

Of course, what’s going on under the ground is as important as what’s happening on the surface and while soil biology may be the newest buzzword in the industry, for Thompson it’s just another part of running a successful operation – and has been, for decades. “We haven’t had any anhydrous on our ground since the early 1980’s,” he says, “We definitely feel that we have a lot of soil life.” And speaking of that soil life, the flexibility of AgroLiquid’s full line of crop nutrition has combined well with Thompson’s

use of composted turkey litter.

He put in a four bay high-heat composting system in the early 1980’s not long before he began using AgroLiquid products and has been happy with the combination of nutrient sources ever since.

The environmentally controlled bays keep the compost at high heat and control the oxygen in the piles via high capacity fans under the floor. The setup allows thermophilic bacteria to work on the breakdown process, making the nutrients more readily available to the crops. “We use the compost on our fields and sell a lot into the organic market here and in Minnesota,” said Thompson.

From fertilizer to corn to turkey and then back to fertilizer again, Thompson’s central Iowa operation is a prime example of the ingenuity of full-circle American agriculture.

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their low-vigor counterparts; with more robust hybrid varieties tipping the scale at the top end of the nutrition requirements. In addition to nitrogen -- which is usually the limiting nutrient in cranberry production -- cranberries uptake both potassium and calcium at significant rates; about 15 pounds each per acre in most harvests.

COWBOY KITCHEN By: J.W. Lemons

Those of us who live and breath agriculture have a distinct advantage over those who don’t: when we sit down to a meal, we not only know where it came from, we have an appreciation for the hard work it took to grow it and get it to our table, and we know it wasn’t just a little seed and a little labor that made the crop possible. From the skidloaders used to clean dairy barns so we can have milk, cream cheese, sour cream, halfand-half and a whole host of dairy products, to the herbicides and fertilizers applied throughout the growing season to crops ranging from apples to corn to cranberries to sweet potatoes, there is a seemingly neverending list of inputs that make every meal -- especially the typical American Thanksgiving meal -- possible.

Plant nutrition is an underappreciated component of the farm-to-fork connection. Truly the fullcircle of “life” when it comes to nutrition. It’s the nutrients applied to and taken in by the crop that then make the crop possible and provide the nutrition we need ourselves.

The broccoli in the Broccoli Casserole recipe on the 26

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next page can uptake as much as eight pounds of nitrogen every day. Each five ton crop of broccoli spears harvested utilizes ninety pounds of nitrogen.

The entire crop with stem and leaf utilizes 250 to 300 pounds of nitrogen.

The cabbage in our Sausage-Cabbage Pan Stuffing is another prime example of a nutrition-senstive crop becoming a nutrition-packed food. As any cabbage grower can tell you, the dense cole crop is boron-sensitive and requires close management and keen attention to application methods. Boron used to be an overlooked micronutrient, but is gaining traction as we understand more and more about its function in the plant. You can find many cabbage producers at the ready to combat any sign of boron deficiency in-season with a foliar application.

Of course, we can’t leave out the cranberries on Thanksgiving day. Cranberries have a lot to teach us about the varying nutrition needs of crops depending on their production system and variety selection. High-vigor bogs of cranberries have been known to require higher doses of nitrogen than

Whatever the nutrition it took to get it to the table, one thing is for sure: at my house I always get carried away. Trays of fudge and sugary roasted nuts are always around, along with cheese trays, fruit and crackers. I’ll leave the rolls and appetizers to you this year and only share one pie recipe even though I think three types are just about perfect for any feast on the fourth Thursday of November. As for the turkey, cranberries, stuffing, broccoli casserole and pie recipes you’ll find here: I hope you enjoy them.

As much as the food itself is a labor of love from America’s farmers, the recipes here are a labor of love from, as it’s called here at home, J.W.’s cowboy kitchen.

Smoked Turkey on the Grill 1 turkey, your choice of size and weight 2 small apples 1 cup of raw cranberries

1 small orange 1 tsp poultry seasoning, plus more for rub Pre-heat grill to 400 degrees, removing the racks over the end you choose for your open flame and leaving just enough rack space for your turkey pan.

Place fully thawed turkey on turkey rack in pan.

Peel oranges. Thickly slice apples and oranges, add to bowl with 1 cup raw cranberries. Mix teaspoon of poultry seasoning (or more to taste) into fruit mix.

Place mixture inside turkey and seal the skin flaps on both ends.

Moisture from fruit as well as flavor and aroma will steam inside.

Rub outside of the bird with poultry seasoning or make and ice bird using the icing recipe included in this article. (Turkey pictured is not iced.)

Place pan with turkey on grill and reduce heat to maintain 350 degrees.

Turn turkey pan every ½ hour to expose all sides to heat evenly.

When the skin begins to brown you can start lightly basting if drippings are adequate. When very light golden, cover bird lightly with aluminum foil tent. If using icing avoid contact with foil as much as possible.

Grilling time will be similar to time stated on the label for oven cooking. Turkey is done when meat temperature reaches 165 degrees all the way around.

Remove foil for the last half hour of grilling to brown even more.

Let cool slightly, carve and serve as usual.

Optional Turkey Icing 3/4 pound butter, softened 3/4 cup flour Mix butter and flour in a small mixing bowl until the consistency of thick icing.

Pat turkey dry and using a spatula apply a 1/2 inch thick layer of icing over the entire turkey. Icing will keep turkey extra moist and brown over top of the skin during grilling.

Broccoli Casserole 16 oz. fresh broccoli spears 10.75 oz. can Cream of Mushroom soup 2 large eggs 1 cup real mayonnaise 1 ½ cups sharp cheddar cheese 1/4 lb salted butter, cubed 1/8 lb butter, melted Ground Pepper ½ cup Panko bread crumbs Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Steam the broccoli until crisp tender, about 5 minutes. Remove broccoli and place in ice water to cool.

Mix soup, eggs, mayonnaise, cheese and cubed butter in sauce pan. Cook over medium-low FERTILIZER MAGAZINE

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heat, stirring constantly until melted and combined. Remove from heat.

Spray baking dish lightly with cooking spray. Drain broccoli and place evenly in baking dish. Pour soup mixture over broccoli and sprinkle top with panko bread crumbs.

Take a small amount of melted butter and drizzle it on crumbs.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Sausage-Cabbage Pan Stuffing 1 lb. bulk Italian sausage 3 cups chopped cabbage 1 large carrot, shredded 2 celery ribs, chopped 1 small onion, chopped 2 tbsp half-and-half cream ¾ tsp poultry seasoning ¼ tsp salt 1/8 tsp pepper 3 cups seasoned stuffing cubes 1 egg, lightly beaten 2/3 to ¾ cup chicken broth Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In skillet or dutch oven, cook sausage 6-8 minutes until no longer pink, break into crumbles and set aside. Discard drippings, reserving one tablespoon.

Add cabbage, carrot, celery, and onion to reserved drippings and cook over medium until tender.

Stir in cream, poultry seasoning, 28

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salt and pepper.

Add stuffing cubes, egg and sausage; toss to combine. Stir in enough broth to reach desired moistness; transfer to greased baking dish.

Bake covered, for 30 minutes.

Uncover and bake 10-15 minutes longer until lightly browned.

Cranberry Sauce with a Kick 12 ounce bag fresh or frozen cranberries 1 ¼ cups sugar 1 strip orange or lemon zest 2 tbsp water 4 oz cream cheese, cubed ¾ cup sour cream 2 tsp horseradish Place half cup cranberries in a medium mixing bowl and put the remainder in a medium saucepan.

Add the sugar, zest and water to saucepan; cook over low heat until sugar dissolves and berries are soft, about 10 minutes.

Increase heat to medium and cook until cranberries burst, about 12 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in reserved cranberries and cream cheese.

When cream cheese dissolves, Fold in sour cream and horseradish.

Transfer to bowl and chill; stir and serve.

Apple & Pecan Stuffed Sweet Potatoes 6 sweet potatoes, scrubbed and pierced with fork ½ cup butter, cubed ¼ cup packed brown sugar ½ tsp. grated orange peel 1 medium apple, chopped ¼ cup pecans, chopped Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake potatoes on foil lined pan for 45-60 minutes or until tender. Remove from oven.

When potatoes have cooled cut a thin slice from the top of each potato and discard.

Scoop out pulp, leaving ¼” thick shells. Transfer pulp to a large bowl. Mash with butter, brown sugar and orange peel. Fold in apple and pecans. Spoon into potato shells; return to baking pan. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through.

Walnut-Streusel Pumpkin Pie Pie Filling 1 ¾ cups fresh pumpkin puree 1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk ½ cup sugar ½ cup packed dark brown sugar

  

  

 

  

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 

  



2 eggs 1 tbsp all-purpose flour ½ tsp salt 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp ground nutmeg ¼ tsp ground ginger Cream Cheese Filling 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened ¼ cup sugar ½ tsp vanilla 1 egg, lightly beaten Topping ¼ cup old fashioned oats ¼ cup packed dark brown sugar 2 tbsp all-purpose flour ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg 2 tbsp cold butter, cubed ¼ cup chopped walnuts Line 9 in. deep dish pie plate with pastry; trim and flute edge.

Refrigerate. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Market & Psych logical

In a large bowl beat pumpkin, milk, sugar, eggs, flour, salt and spices until blended; transfer to crust.

In another bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add egg; beat on low speed just until combined. Smooth evenly over pumpkin layer.

In a small bowl, combine the first five topping ingredients; cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in walnuts. Sprinkle over filling. Cover edge with foil to prevent over browning.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350; bake 50 to 60 minutes longer or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove foil. Cool on wire rack. Serve within two hours or refrigerate, covered.

UPS AND DOWNS

By: Galynn Beer

In any business, and in any industry, economics is a driving factor in prices received on products, as well as the mindset of consumers buying those products. People make decisions on purchases as large as vacations, cars and new homes and as small as phones, clothes and their weekly groceries based on their level of confidence in their economic situation.

Good, consistent income makes us willing to spend. Uncertainty, such as layoffs, an economic downturn, unrest in the world, and many other factors that make us uncomfortable about our financial future put us in conservative mode. We might want a new 60” LED TV, but our 3 year-old flat screen plasma will work just fine if we decide not to spend money. Trading cars every year or two is great, but today’s cars can last several years and many miles. So we have flexibility in spending money. Because the life of many things can be extended, our decisions aren’t driven by necessity as much as they’re driven by desire. And that simple fact drives economists and Federal Reserve Chairmen nuts.

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The economists and Feds want us to be constantly motivated to buy, keeping the money supply in constant action. They refer to this as the velocity of money, or the number of times a dollar exchanges hands over a given time period. The more times it changes hands, the more people or entities it contributes to income for, resulting in more income to produce taxes. An apprehensive consumer can stop, or slow, the process, because tighter economics breed conservative spending.

Agriculture is no different. Prices for finished agricultural goods affect gross revenues and therefore, impact buying decisions that come as a result of the revenue stream. Just as with any business, personnel hires, capital expenditures and business expansion are decisions made as a result of anticipated cash flow. And fertilizer decisions can be thrown into the mix as well. Good crop prices promote luxury spending on plant nutrition; poor crop prices cause producers to scrutinize the potential returns of fertilizer input. In both cases, emotion, rather than a pencil, can end up driving decisions.

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There are a lot of variables that determine the prices growers receive for their products. Some are direct and some are indirect.

opportunity. So the price rarely comes down gently. The result is that demand falls quickly while production – that is, supply -- is escalating.

Having grown up on a farm, I noticed that throughout the industry, a lot of the opinions on price movements are made based on the projected supply, affected by variables such as acres planted and projected yield. Within those two influences, there are other factors, such as shifts in acres of crops grown and, of course, weather. While growing up, the supply was talked about so much I don’t think I considered demand until I took economics in college. It was as though demand were assumed to be on a steady, straight-line growth. I also observed that when in an area that is adversely affected by weather, it is easy to mentally apply local conditions to a national level and anticipate an outcome that may not be accurate. Known as the familiarity bias, it’s the old, “stare at the tree, miss the forest” market view.

One of the best analogies for what happens at times like these can be found in the movie Top Gun. At one point in the film two fighter jets come at each other at Mach speeds and pass close to each other. They are next to one another for no more than a millisecond and it’s this fraction of a moment in time that represents the period in any market when supply and demand are equal as they pass each other; a mere millisecond in the grand scheme of things. After that, demand is kind of like one of the fighter jets and supply the other, both a spec on the horizon that won’t be seen in full view again until they turn around and come back.

When it comes to demand, there are definitely a lot of variables. The short version is that when demand is high it can absorb increases in production and support market prices. But when we look at corn specifically, abnormally high prices can render many uses unprofitable.

Livestock account for about 80% of U.S. corn consumption. High grain prices are fantastic, but usually can’t be sustained.

As profitability shrinks from livestock due to high feed costs, the numbers on feed drop and a primary demand for the input retreats. Usually, at the time this is happening, producers are working to maximize yields to take advantage of profit

The speed of the change in supply and demand is like those two fighter jets coming at each other at Mach speeds. The sheer momentum of the shift usually causes an overcorrection for one or both of the “jets.”

Extending that correction can be a tendency on the part of the grower to make up for lower prices with increased volume while at the same time the other “jet”, the demand side is also over-correcting by cutting use.

When both supply and demand overcorrect at the same time the whole situation can get out of hand.

Welcome to the last couple of years. In 2012, severe drought across the grain belt reduced FERTILIZER MAGAZINE

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supply causing a huge run-up in corn. The reduced corn supply coupled with the drought’s effects in the southwest which severely depleted hay and pasture supplies pushed feedlots to market cattle early and cow-calf operations to ship breeding stock they normally would have kept back.

Meanwhile, facing record high feed costs, pork and poultry producers worked to reduce their production and many turned to alternative grain substitutions in rations where possible. Supply and demand were on a Mach-speed course aimed directly at one another.

At the same time, with record-high corn prices, growers, in an effort to be sure they didn’t leave any yield on the table – or in the field -- were willing to fertilize beyond soil test recommendations. They would luxury-spend because profitability was supporting it. The fertilizer industry could expand even if acres remained constant because ‘insurance nutrients’ were being applied.

Fast-forward to 2014 and the fighter jets have passed each other. Now, we’re left trying to halt the momentum that has us headed in the wrong direction. While there is optimism with livestock producers, feed demand will take time to ramp up. All livestock take time to repopulate. First producers have to decide to hold back extra breeding animals, raise them to a reasonable breeding age and then wait out the gestation period. In cattle the whole process is years long, with hogs it takes a full year. Meanwhile, for grain producers who are waiting for the end user to need grain again, for demand to return, it feels like watching paint dry.

At the resulting commodity price levels, farmers are – by necessity -- scrutinizing every input, including fertilizer. Can we skip a year or two of P, K or micronutrient applications? It may not be beneficial to yields, but many probably will.

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vConservative spending in the face of uncertain economic stability is human nature. We all have predictable tendencies at times like these, but we also have the ability to be smart about how we apply those tendencies. In the 2014 Behavioral Economics Guide Vice Chairman of Ogilvy Group Rory Sutherland wrote, “The real problem with [the classical model of economics] is the other things it leaves out: it is essentially, a model which is trustfree, psychology-free, context-free, relationshipfree and ethics free.”

As a grower, one way I used to fight through those tendencies is to get input from an outside source.

In the case of crop nutrition, someone who is excellent at understanding soil tests can be surgical in how they spend the farmer’s money. A surgeon who permanently removes a patient’s kidneys in an effort to repair their heart just hurt the overall functionality of the human body. In fertilizing a crop, removing a vital nutrient from a program can hurt the overall performance of the crop.

Careful evaluation of what exists in the soil and appropriate applications of nutrients can provide effective fertilizer programs that don’t include skipping a nutrient that might be limiting.

A plant’s need for balanced nutrition doesn’t come and go with price fluctuations the way the decisions on those inputs do. Being surgical, removing unneeded portions of a program and saving vital components, is an area where additional value is added to crop nutrition programs. This helps put producers on a path of potential profitability where random cuts might result in making it harder to survive the tight economics of low prices.

For more than thirty years we’ve been dedicated to America’s original family business: the farm. Having built our family business alongside yours means we understand that you want a legacy to pass on to your next generation.

We’re proud to be part of a strong agricultural community.

From our family business to yours.

Learn more at agroliquid.com.

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