The big question farmers want Bob Nielsen to address is how to cut costs for 2019. Continued pressure on commodity prices and rising input costs have almost everyone re-examining every dollar they spend.

“My advice is look for places where you could cut costs without lowering yield,” says Nielsen, Purdue University Extension corn specialist. He reasons that if you cut costs but wind up lowering yields, you’re likely not gaining economic ground.

“Instead, look for those things that might not contribute to yield every year,” he says. “For example, if someone suggests applying Product X or Y, and it’s only $2 or $3 per acre, maybe you try it. It doesn’t seem like much, but $2 or $3 per acre on two or three products over 2,000 acres of corn adds up to real money.”

That’s where having solid data to back up yield claims matters, he insists.

Starter fertilizer
Starter fertilizer is a whole different ballgame, Nielsen notes. Costs will be significantly more than a couple dollars per acre, but there’s also lots of valid data to help you evaluate where it may or may not pay.

What most university trials show is that starter fertilizer pays dividends over investment some years, but not every year. In years when it pays, Nielsen and his colleague Jim Camberato have documented increases in yield as great as 18 bushels per acre compared to no starter.

Many farmers who plant early into cooler soils or plant in no-till or high-residue systems wouldn’t give up nitrogen as starter fertilizer.

“If you’re using 10-34-0 or 28-0-0, which are traditional, reasonably priced sources of N, there’s another way to look at it,” Nielsen says. “Even in years when you might not see enough yield response to pay or more than pay for starter, you’re not losing anything.”

That’s true if you count pounds of nitrogen supplied by starter as part of your total nitrogen budget, he explains. For example, if your goal is 190 pounds of N per acre, and you apply 30 pounds as starter, then you apply only 160 pounds through other means. Don’t apply 190 pounds in addition to the 30 pounds in the starter.

“In years when starter fertilizer doesn’t increase yield, the crop starter N as part of its overall N needs and your overall costs will be essentially the same.” Nielsen says. “In years when starter fertilizer increases yield, extra bushels are essentially ‘free’ bushels.”

Other nutrients
The same could be true for phosphorus and potassium. Phosphorus is often the other nutrient besides nitrogen that people include in starter fertilizers.

“If soil tests indicate you need those nutrients, or if you’re following a maintenance program and you apply reasonably priced starter fertilizer, then you’re getting nutrients you would need anyway,” Nielsen says.

The bottom line is that if you’ve been applying starter fertilizer and you cut it this year without thinking through all possible implications, it may not be the economic booster you’re expecting.

“Remember that part of the goal is to only cut things that won’t impact yield,” Nielsen concludes.