Phosphate prices aren’t as high as nitrogen, but are still high in the new year. NDSU Extension Soil Specialist Dave Franzen reminds wheat growers there is a relationship between profitability and the cost of phosphate fertilizer. “The higher the phosphate price relative to the wheat price, the less phosphate is needed. The critical value of the Olsen soil test for wheat is somewhere around 15 PPM. If you get phosphate up into the $1 per pound range, some of the research indicates maybe that critical value goes down to 10 or below.” Franzen says spring wheat needs phosphate to get a good start. “Beyond that, putting broadcast applications on, if I was a farmer I’d be shaving rates.”
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