United States agriculture has always been tied to international markets for the sale of our commodities and the inputs it takes to grow them. We are always watching to see how many tons of soybeans are purchased by China and how much corn is sent south of the border to Mexico. On the input side, much of the seed we plant is grown in South America, which is harvested during our fall season and made available for spring planting. The price we receive for our goods and the price we pay for our commodities are affected by numerous factors that include weather and politics. The effects of world politics has been brought back to light but the current conflict is the Middle East.
Approximately 25% of the nitrogen we use to raise corn, wheat, and grass forage crops comes from the Middle East. Since nitrogen fertilizer is produced from fossil fuels the decreased crude oil production and disrupted shipping out of the Persian Gulf has reduced supplies and increased the value of what is on hand. In the last two weeks, the average price of nitrogen fertilizer has increased by 20 to 25% in our retail market. If you purchased your nitrogen last fall, you may not be feeling any pressure of the price increase. If you still need more for top dressing small grains, or side dressing corn later in the season, the price increase may have you rethinking our planting intentions.
Our dairy community may not have the flexibility to reduce the acres they intend to plant to corn this spring. In order to maximize quality and yield, nitrogen will need to be applied for that to happen. You will be inclined to cut back on your nitrogen applications to reduce your costs, but how low can you go and still expect a respectable yield? In this week’s CORN Newsletter, OSU Extension Water Quality Associate Rachel Henry, reminds Ohio producers of our “corn nitrogen rate calculator” (https://cornnratecalc.org). The calculator is valuable tool that has been developed by Ohio State and several of our Midwest peers to assist producers in identifying economic nitrogen rates based on nitrogen and corn prices. The tool has been evaluated over the last 20 years and has consistently shown that, on average, an Ohio corn crop needs approximately 150 units of nitrogen. The tool supplies an application range where there is the greatest return on investment and not necessarily the greatest yield.
All of our livestock producers will want to take advantage of the manure nutrients to reduce their need for purchase of commercial fertilizers. In terms of crop available nitrogen, manure from a swine finishing operation is the most ideal. Swine finishing manure can contain 30 to 40 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 gallons, where dairy manure typically contains about 10 pounds per 1,000 gallons. While a 5,000 gallon per acre application of swine manure can satisfy the nitrogen needs of the growing crop, the 15,000 gallons of dairy manure may not be possible and some commercial fertilizer will be needed. As always, I recommend you have a manure analysis performed to know exactly what contribution your manure can supply.
There are several regional programs I want to make you aware of. First, we have completed the five private pesticide and fertilizer applicator recertification sessions for Wayne and Holmes Counties. If you are still in need of recertifying, you have until March 31st to attend a session. If you need help finding a location, you can find the remaining opportunities at https://pested.osu.edu/privaterecertification.
The Eastern Ohio Women in Ag conference is scheduled for March 27th. The conference agenda and registration information can be found at https://u.osu.edu/eastohiowomeninag/. The registration deadline has passed, but you can call 330-627-4310 to check on reservation options. The program will run from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM at the Shisler Conference Center here in Wooster. This year’s keynote speaker is Gina Orr from Fresh Orr Family Farms. There are 24 separate breakout sessions in the tracks of Plants, Animals, Business and marketing, Home and family, Special interests, and personal development.
Finally, we will be hosting a four-night small farm business college beginning April 8th. All four sessions will be held at the Fisher Auditorium from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM. There will be a variety of farm business topics related to: goal setting, evaluating your resources, budgeting, tax planning, and ag law considerations. The registration fee is $60 per participant, and dinner will be provided at each session. Complete program information can be found on our website at wayne.osu.edu, under the events tab. If you have any questions about these programs, or questions in general, please reach out to me at the OSU Extension office for Wayne County at 330-264-8722.