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VOLUME XX
ISSUE 1
January, 2004
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1,781,000 Samples Later
20 Years at Ward Laboratories
By Dr. Ray Ward
The start of the new year marks another milestone at Ward Laboratories, Inc. as we celebrate 20 years of service to the agricultural community. As the headline of this article declares, we have analyzed more than 1,781,000 samples since we started in November, 1983 in temporary quarters consisting of a three bay garage at Rovar Park in Kearney.
Thanks to the generosity and persistence of Kearney builder/developer Jerry Schmidt (now deceased) and agronomist Mark Kottmeyer, Jolene and I were attracted to Kearney with the dream of establishing and building a comprehensive agricultural testing facility. In January, 1984 we moved into our first permanent lab facility at Rovar Park with Jolene, myself and 1 1/2 other employees. In our first full year of operation, 1984, we were elated to analyze 16,488 samples. By comparison, last year marked another record year for Ward Laboratories as we conducted tests on 163,737 samples.
Interestingly enough, our plans initially were to provide only soil testing. However, in June of our first year, we were asked to conduct our first feed test
and we did. In all of 1984, we conducted 465 feed tests
in 2003, 36,005 feed tests were conducted by our professional staff. Today, we're proud to do complete testing on soil, feed, water and plants.
In January, 1989 we proudly opened a new 6,000 square foot laboratory northeast of Kearney. Eleven years later and light years in increased demand and new technology, we expanded and remodeled our facility by another 9,200 square foot creating one of the largest and most advanced agricultural testing facilities in the Midwest.
Further, the cost of a complete soil analysis, which includes 17 different tests, was $18.50 in 1984 and just $20 today.
Today, we have 22 full time employees that can grow to 40 in peak season, an annual payroll nearing $750,000 dollars, over 15,200 square feet of laboratory, thousands of dollars in sophisticated equipment and a continued commitment to serve all your agricultural testing needs.
Thanks for your confidence during our first twenty years
we look forward with excitement to our next twenty years with you.
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Raymond C. Ward, Ph.D.
President
Jolene F. Ward, B.S.
Corporate Secretary
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Inside ...
Fertilizer Management Tips
...Page 2
Reprinted From '84, Phosphorus Fertilizer Placement
Page 3
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Fertilizer Management Tips Offered
With Prospects for Higher Anhydrous Costs
Producers across America are likely to see higher nitrogen fertilizer costs this year. And, the culprit of higher nitrogen fertilizer costs is, of all things, natural gas prices.
As most producers know, nitrogen is created from anhydrous ammonia and anhydrous is created by combining natural gas, air, high temperature and intense pressure. Unfortunately, natural gas prices are increasing dramatically due to increased demand in the northeast and the use of natural gas to produce electricity.
The bottom line is we can't do much about the cost of natural gas, but we can utilize good fertilizer management to more efficiently use the nitrogen available to us.
To minimize the cost of your nitrogen this year, while maximizing its effectiveness, we offer the following management tips:
Have a comprehensive soil analysis conducted by Ward Laboratories to determine how much residual nitrate is available for plant use. We recommend samples from 0 to 8" for the topsoil and 8"-36" for subsoil. Further, it's important to get a representative sample of 15 cores for each sample area for both topsoil and subsoil.
Consider the amount of nitrogen available from any past legume crops (soybeans, alfalfa, dry beans) that can provide fertilizer for this year's crop. Crop residue from legumes including soybeans, will offer some nitrogen for new crops. As a rule of thumb, soybean residue will provide a "credit" of 40 lbs. per acre in nitrogen, alfalfa offers a "credit" of 100-120 lbs. per acre and dry beans can provide a "credit" of 25 lbs. per acre.
Split your nitrogen application to maximize its efficiency. Ideally, 1/3 to 1/2 of your nitrogen should be applied at or before planting with the remainder applied during the growing season. In every case, your goal should be to have the entire nitrogen requirement applied by tasseling of corn or heading of milo. Splitting your application makes the fertilizer more efficient by increasing your yield or reducing the overall rate of application.
Finally, knife-in liquid nitrogen which is clearly the most efficient method of liquid application.
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Ward Professionals Offer Hints For
Top Dressing Fertilizer For Wheat
Every year at this time, the professionals at Ward Laboratories field dozens of calls from wheat producers about how much nitrogen is needed in a top dressing operation.
And, while it is too late to conduct a soil nitrate test, there are some rules of thumb to follow which will allow you to provide adequate top dressed fertilizer for your crop.
Since wheat generally grows when the weather is cool, producers should not expect much nitrogen help from past legume crops like you would expect from summer crops.
Generally, producers need to figure on 2.4 lbs. of nitrogen per bushel of wheat for crop development. If you conducted a soil nitrate test last fall prior to planting and you applied nitrogen in the fall, you have the information you need to calculate an early spring top dress application. If you didn't conduct a fall soil test or fall application, assume you have 50 lbs. of nitrogen/acre available in the soil.
Calculate your spring application need using the following formula:
Your Yield Goal x 2.4 -50 lbs. (or known quantity) = lbs. per acre needed in the spring
Timing of the above application is critical with the optimum application time as near dormancy break as possible. In many situations, nitrogen can be applied before dormancy break, but not in frozen fields on sloping lands.
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20 Years at Ward Laboratories
Reprinted from the February, 1989 WardLetter
this article is as pertinent today as it was 15 years ago.
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Phosphorus Fertilizer Placement - Broadcast or Band?
The efficiency and benefit from a particular placement method of phosphorus (P) fertilizer depends on soil type, inherent soil fertility, crop, and climatic conditions. Small grains planted in narrow rows may have different responses than corn or milo grown in wide rows (30 inches or wider) even though both have fibrous root systems. Soybeans might respond even differently due to their tap root system.
Factors Influencing P Fertilizer Response - Source: P.E. Fixen, S. Dakota St. Univ., and D.F. Liekam, Farmland Industries, Proc. 1988 Great Plains Soil Fertility Workshop, Denver, CO.
There are three major factors that should be remembered when making comparisons between placement methods.
1) P level of the non-fertilized soil
The probability of an economical yield increase from applied P decreases as the soil test P level increases. Yield increases are variable from year to year and soil association to soil association. Fluctuations in the mineralization rate of organic P is partly responsible for these variable responses.
2) Root contact with the fertilized soil
The amount of root contact with the fertilized soil is the most important factor that influences yield response to fertilizer P. Root length, volume of fertilized soil, and the location of the fertilized soil are the major factors governing root contact.
Total root length - If root growth exceeds shoot growth, little P response occurs because the plant is able to obtain adequate P from the unfertilized soil. This can lead to a lack of response even on low P testing soils. Cool, wet soil slows root growth and reduces total root length and activity. This increases the chances of a P response on soils testing high in P.
The volume of fertilized soil directly influences the amount of root contact with the fertilized soil. If one assumes that a broadcast-moldboard plow application fertilizes 100% of the soil, a band application in 30" rows fertilizes only about 1% of the soil volume. However, due to increased root proliferation from fertilizer, approximately 4% of the root volume is in contact with the 1% fertilized volume, leaving 96% of the root volume unaffected.
The location of the fertilized soil is another major factor involved in root contact. Since fertilizer P is relatively immobile, the key is to place the fertilizer in areas of major root concentration and activity (moist soil).
3) Phosphorus level of the fertilized soil
The impact that applied phosphorus has on the P status of the soil is the third major factor that influences response to that element. A low P buffering soil is one in which more P remains in soil solution as fertilizer P rates increase, allowing it to have a more immediate effect on root P uptake. The influence of applied P on soil test levels and soil solution P concentration will be minor for a soil with high P buffering potential (fixation).
Band vs. Broadcast - Fertilizer placement studies do not always reach the same conclusions. The best placement for a given situation is one that allows for the maximum root contact and the least fertilizer reaction with the soil. The factors discussed later must be kept in mind when comparing placement methods.
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Should fertilizer P be broadcast or banded, and if banded, at what rate? There are no easy answers to these questions, because they depend on specific situations involved. Four relationships comparing band and broadcast P applications have been demonstrated by numerous studies in the Great Plains.
Situation A - Band equals broadcast. This is most common when soil test levels are relatively high (limited fixation) and thorough incorporation of P results in good root contact. Warm moist soil and warm season crops such as sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers, and to a certain extent corn, are common to this situation.
Situation B - Band exceeds broadcast at low rates but both methods obtain the same maximum yield. Low soil test values, high P fixing soils, and cold, wet soils are associated with this situation. In this situation application rates are reduced if the fertilizer is banded rather than broadcast. These relationships are used to show that a band rate needed to achieve maximum yield is less than the broadcast rate at low soil test values while similar amounts are needed at higher soil test values.
Situation C - Banded P produces higher yields than broadcast P. One set of circumstances that leads to this situation is application of fertilizer P in a band in cold, wet soil that gives an early boost to growth. A second set of circumstances might be a low soil P test, minimal incorporation of broadcast P, and dry surface soil. There may be possibilities under these circumstances that a higher rate of P fertilizer is more profitable in the band than for broadcasting.
Situation D - Broadcast is more efficient than banding. This response is most likely to occur on low P fixing soils with heavy residue cover and warm, moist soil. This may be the situation in no-till fields. These conditions often have high root densities near the soil surface where the broadcast P is applied. Banded applications may not have an adequate root contact. Some data indicates that in cold environment where early growth is critical, a combination of band and broadcast may give the best result.
Band or broadcast? Although the question seems simple, the interactions involved create a complex answer, and will largely be field and condition specific. There are exceptions to every placement "rule." Also, beside the agronomic considerations, placement decisions must take into account a producer's equipment inventory and labor, plus the products available for application.
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