Since 2024, Helena Agri-Enterprises has taken more than 600,000 soil samples across the United States. Helena National Agronomist Derek Emerine says the top four deficient nutrients were sulfur, zinc, boron, and manganese. Phosphorus and potassium rounded out the top six. “You go back four or five years ago, sulfur was in the top two, but also potassium was higher up on that list,” said Emerine. “I know within Helena and a lot of other agricultural retailers, there’s been a lot more talk about potassium in the last handful of years. We’re actually seeing that move down, but these micronutrients are coming up. We’ve had pretty high yields, in general, across the U.S. the last couple of years, and I think these micronutrients are starting to play a bigger role.”


