Applying phosphorus at a 2-year rate: Some potential benefits for soybean farmers in Northwest Minnesota

University of Minnesota Extension Northwest Research and Outreach Center specialist Lindsay Pease talks with the Red River Farm Network about some potential benefits to Northwest MN farmers when applying P on a 2-year rate.

Transcript

Red River Farm Network: This is the Soil Fertility Minute brought to you by the Agricultural Fertilizer Research and Education Council. Our guest is University of Minnesota Extension Northwest Research and Outreach Center specialist doctor Lindsay Pease.

Lindsay Pease: So if you apply all of your phosphorus, you know, before the corn year or a wheat year, and you just that lets you skip the application during the soybean year. And what we’ve seen is there’s really no disadvantage to applying a two year rate. So if you’re in a place where fertilizer prices are a little bit higher and you’ve maybe applied two years of a rate before corn or soybeans, that lets you skip a year.

I think this has been a good option, for farmers who are wanting to reduce tillage in their operations because this allows you to skip tillage in between, you know, corn or wheat and soybeans altogether. The soybeans can tolerate a little bit of wheat stubble or corn stalks a lot better than some other crops.

RRFN: AFREC is a farmer led program advancing soil fertility research. Find out more at mnsoilfertility.com.