Key Points
- Objective: To evaluate yield and economic impact of dry and liquid fertilizer program in fall strip-till bands.
- Head to Head: 100% dry and liquid fertilizer applications had nearly identical yield increases at 8.9 Bu/A and 8.4 Bu/A respectively.
- High Liquid Cost: Due to the high cost of liquid application fertilizer, it failed to achieve the same profitability of the dry program.
- Future Years: More data is needed to determine overall profitability as our data shows only one application with a return on investment, which was the 50% dry fertilizer application at $34.32/A and a yield increase of 7.5 Bu/A.
When it comes to fertilizers, it all comes down to the cost of fertilizer against the increase in yield. We want to not only boost yield but to increase our profit margin as well.
In 2023, we launched the first year of our study on the economics between liquid and dry fertilizer in our fall strip-till testing program, so we can start answering the question of which fall strip-till fertilizer gives you the highest return.
The treatments were as follows:
Our primary concern when it comes to liquid fertilizers is the cost. The cost of liquid fertilizers are considerably higher than dry fertilizers even though dry fertilizer prices are at historically-high prices. We put each fertilizer to the test at the PTI Farm in Pontiac, IL, evaluating efficiencies of 100% and 50% rates compared to the same rates of the dry application.
All liquid treatments applied in the fall were made with Black Eagle Ag Solution’s strip-till unit. This bar was fitted with PumpStack, a liquid fertilizer hydraulic pump. It was paired with EMHD and FlowSense to ensure a top-notch fertilizer application, as well as row control across the bar.
The control treatment with no fertilizer applied resulted in a soybean yield of 76.0 Bu/A. We found that both dry and liquid fertilizers offered nearly similar performance with yield increases of 8.9 Bu/A for 100% dry fertilizer and 8.4 Bu/A for 100% liquid fertilizer applications.
The overall economics of this fertilizer study show significant losses at both 50% and 100% rates of liquid fertilizer at -$139.97/A to -$295.64/A. We also saw losses at the 100% rate of dry fertilizer at -$11.22/A. The only entry to garner positive return on investment was the 50% dry fertilizer rate of +$34.32/A.
Overall, the Black Eagle strip-till unit performed well regarding tillage. However, due to the high cost of fertilizer, the liquid applications failed to achieve the profitability of the dry program.
We’ll continue to test and monitor results of this study and bring you more data in the coming years!
Related Study Video
Study Details
Study data collected in 2023 at the PTI Farm in Pontiac, IL.
| Planting Date | 2023 - April 20th | Rotation | BAC |
| Row Width | 30" | Population | 120K |
| Soybean Prices | 2023 - $13.09 | Hybrid | 2023 - GH 3913XF |
