Agricultural Nutrients Targeted in Clean Lake 2020 Bill and Kasich Executive Order

By: Peggy Hall, Asst. Professor, Agricultural & Resource Law, Ohio State University

Recent actions by the Ohio legislature and Governor Kasich will affect the management of agricultural nutrients in Ohio. The Ohio General Assembly has passed “Clean Lake 2020” legislation that will provide funding for reducing phosphorous in Lake Erie. Continue reading

Know When to Use Granular Vs. Liquid Fertilizers

By Sonja Begemann, Farm Journal Seeds and Crop Production Editor
Previously published on AgWeb Daily

You know as well as the next farmer fertilizer is critical to promote healthy, high-yielding crop growth. When it comes to nitrogen how you buy fertilizer can have a strong impact on how well your crop grows, and your wallet. Continue reading

It’s Just $5 an Acre…

By: Harold Watters, Ohio State University Extension

It seems everyone has a “package” that gives an extra yield bump. Many of these packages contain micronutrients. In Ohio, because we generally have clay in our soil and reasonable levels of organic matter, we don’t usually see a yield impact from applying micronutrients. But should we be concerned about micronutrients?

Our soil tests are most reliable for pH, phosphorus and potassium and can work reasonably well for zinc, too. We usually use a combination of soil and tissue tests to determine micronutrient deficiencies. Soil pH can also help us know where to look for deficiencies. Continue reading

Legislators Propose “Clean Lake 2020 Plan” Funding to Reduce Lake Erie Phosphorus

By: Peggy Hall, Asst. Professor, Agricultural & Resource Law, Ohio State University

A pair of companion bi-partisan bills just introduced in the Ohio Senate and Ohio House of Representatives would provide significant funding to help meet Ohio’s goal of reducing phosphorus loading by 20% in Lake Erie by 2020. Continue reading

Adjusting Corn Management Practices for a Late Start

By: Steve Culman and Peter Thomison, Ohio State University Extension

As prospects for a timely start to spring planting diminish, growers need to reassess their planting strategies and consider adjustments. Since delayed planting reduces the yield potential of corn, the foremost attention should be given to management practices that will expedite crop establishment. The following are some suggestions and guidelines to consider in dealing with a late planting season. Continue reading

New Ohio Nitrogen Rates

By: Steve Culman, Anthony Fulford, Peter Thomison, Rich Minyo, Eric Richer, CCA, Harold D. Watters, CPAg/CCA, Greg LaBarge, CCA, Joe Nester, and Karen Chapman

Previously on Ohio Ag Net

Ohio State University corn nitrogen rate recommendations follow a unified framework used throughout the Corn Belt. Together with six other states (Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin), the Ohio recommended nitrogen rates are not based on yield goals, but on economic returns. Corn yield responses along with corn and nitrogen prices are used to calculate the point at which the last unit of added nitrogen returns a yield increase large enough to pay for the added nitrogen cost. This approach, called the maximum return to nitrogen (MRTN), is favored because of the economic volatility in both corn grain and nitrogen fertilizer prices. The past 10 years provides ample evidence of these fluctuations. Continue reading

Fertilizer Outlook

By: Karl Stenerson
Market Reporter – Fertecon

Here is a breakdown of wholesale prices and trends of the various fertilizers:

AMMONIA

International

Global ammonia markets remained soft in March with weakness in urea and nitrates markets pressuring ammonia prices as well as reduced demand in India due to phosphate plant turnarounds.

The April Tampa contract settled at $275 metric ton (mt) cfr (cost and freight), a $30 decrease from March. The Caribbean Nitrogen Company (CNC) and the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago reached an agreement for a new gas supply contract. The Prime Minister of Trinidad has indicated the seven-week closure of the CNC plant will end. It has been suggested the plant will restart in first-half April. Continue reading

Ohio Agriculture Reacts To Lake Erie Impairment Designation

From Ohio Ag Net

Today, Ohio EPA released the draft 2018 water quality report that outlines the general condition of Ohio’s waters and includes a list that identifies impaired waters that are not meeting their federal or state water quality goals, as well as waters that have improved to meet federal standards.

In the draft for 2018, the Agency is proposing to designate the open waters of Lake Erie’s Western Basin (from the Michigan/Ohio state line to the Marblehead Lighthouse) as impaired for recreation due to harmful algae and drinking water due to occurrences of microcystin. Previously, only the shoreline area of the Western Basin and drinking water intakes had been designated as impaired. Continue reading

A Look at Acid Rain and the Farm Phosphorus Conundrum with Water Quality

By Matt Reese, Ohio’s Country Journal

Farmers understand that Lake Erie turns green in the summer and that part of the blame is rightfully being directed at agriculture due to issues related to nutrient management, specifically phosphorus. What is less understood is why this is happening.

In a time period where on-farm phosphorus application levels have decreased substantially and recommended conservation practices have increased in the agricultural landscape, the troubling harmful algal blooms again started showing up in the Western Basin of Lake Erie after many thought the water quality issues had been corrected decades earlier. Continue reading