As fertilizer costs spike, farmers reducing nitrogen By Bob Johnson
“according to grower’s standard practices,” Smith and Cahn wrote. They said the trial showed it is possible to reduce nitrogen applications by more than 60 pounds an acre without reducing romaine lettuce yields. “Total nitrogen applied to the CropManage treatment was 129 pounds an acre and the grower standard treat- ment was 191 pounds an acre,” the re- searchers reported. Some Central Coast growers have a head start in targeting their fertilizer applica- tions as they took steps to prevent nitrate from reaching groundwater supplies. Until recent cost increases, fertilizer was not an important item in the budget for producing leafy green vegetables. “In the 2019 romaine hearts cost study, fertilizer costs represented 8.5% of total crop production costs,” Smith and Cahn wrote. “However, in light of current price spikes, fertilizer prices have become more significant. Central Coast growers are fac- ing increased fertilizer prices and are look- ing for ways to reduce the use of fertilizers. In high value horticultural crops, fertilizer costs typically represent a smaller portion of production costs than they do for agro- nomic crops.” Thousands of acres of Central Coast See FERTILIZER, Page 9
As inflation impacts the Salad Bowl, fertilizer, fuel and labor costs have all in- creased for growers of lettuce, baby spin- ach, baby leaf lettuce and specialty greens concentrated in the Central Coast and Salinas Valley regions. For most growers, spikes in fertilizer prices have come as other costs have also increased. “Fertilizer has gone up an average of 10% to 12% the last few months, but it’s not just fertilizer,” said Richard Bianchi, director of farm operations at Sabor Farms in Salinas. “Couple that with fuel costs and labor. Fuel costs have doubled the last 13 months.” Sabor Farms grows a range of specialty greens including baby leaf lettuces, mus- tards, spinach, arugula, cilantro, parsley, kale, endive, radishes, green leaf and green butter lettuce. Because current higher fertilizer prices are caused by complex factors, including strong demand for Midwestern grains, the situation could get worse in the next few months or years, researchers say. “Growers have been affected by a near doubling in fertilizer prices between the summer of 2020 and the end of 2021,” University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisors Richard Smith and Michael Cahn wrote in a recent edi- tion of the Salinas Valley Agriculture re-
Salinas Valley farmer Richard Bianchi says he carefully monitors nitrogen applications to improve efficiency. But he says nitrogen levels must be adjusted with caution to avoid hurting crop yields.
port, which is published by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. Smith and Cahn noted that corn, soy- bean and wheat prices increased 60% from the summer of 2020 through the end of 2021. They said that may have incentivized growers to apply more fertilizer, which also put pressure on fertilizer prices. Smith and Cahn, who reviewed decades of research, are sharing information with Salinas Valley growers on how they can re- duce fertilizer use by targeting applications
more precisely without damaging yields. The farm advisors have done extensive work over 25 years on applying nitrogen efficiently while also complying with wa- ter-quality regulations. In 2019, they conducted a trial with a grower to evaluate water and nitrogen management of romaine lettuce. The trial involved splitting the field in half. On one side, field irrigation and fertilizer decisions were guided using a CropManage decision support tool. The other half was managed
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6 Ag Alert June 8, 2022
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