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A New Fulcrum for Nutrient Management … Balancing on the Old Won’t Do

A New Fulcrum for Nutrient Management … Balancing on the Old Won’t Do. Western Nutrient Management Conference March 3-4, 2005 Salt Lake City, UT Paul Fixen Potash & Phosphate Institute. Environment. Productivity. The Balance Paradigm. Nutrient Management. Environment. Environment.

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A New Fulcrum for Nutrient Management … Balancing on the Old Won’t Do

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  1. A New Fulcrum for Nutrient Management … Balancing on the Old Won’t Do Western Nutrient Management Conference March 3-4, 2005 Salt Lake City, UT Paul Fixen Potash & Phosphate Institute

  2. Environment Productivity The Balance Paradigm Nutrient Management

  3. Environment Environment Productivity Productivity The Balance Paradigm If one goes up … the other goes down Environmental progress is associated with productivity losses Progress with one shifts resources away from the other Nutrient Management

  4. Environmental Considerationsfor nutrient management • Global reactive N • Hypoxia • Surface and ground water quality • Air quality • Soil quality (metals, pathogens, etc.) • Climate change • Biodiversity

  5. Production must increase • Brown quote Source: FAO

  6. 25x25 • Vision: Agriculture will provide 25% of the total energy consumed in the U.S. by 2025 while continuing to produce abundant, safe and affordable food and fiber. Ag Energy Working Group • Role of agriculture: • Produce biomass for energy production • Utilize crop residues and ag wastes to generate heat and power • Capture C, sequester GH gases and improve air, water and soil quality • Produce liquid fuels for tranportation’s needs • Harness wind and solar energy • Process biogases for the production of electricity Clearly beyond the traditional role of food and fiber production

  7. 45% Soil Test P Frequency Distribution for North America in 2001 2.0 million samples Median P = 28 ppm

  8. Median Soil Test P Levels in 2001 Bray P-1 Equivalent, ppm BC AB MB SK NGP 12 ON PQ PEI WA NB ME NE >50 MT ND NS MN OR VT ID NH NY NC 30 WI SD W 21 MI MA CT WY RI IA PA NE OH NJ NV IL IN MD UT DE WV CO VA MO CA SGP 21 KS KY SE 36 NC TN OK AZ NM AR SC MS AL GA Data not available for: AL, BC, NC, ON, SC, VA, WV TX LA North America 28 ppm P FL

  9. A critical need for the (re)integration of nutrient management and agronomy Answering the “simple” question: What level of nutrient X does this crop need on this soil … considering system yield, product quality, and soil, water and air impacts? Haven’t the important agronomic questions related to nutrient management been answered?

  10. K recommended in Iowa (1000 tons K2O) Old recs 260 New recs 572 Recent K Recommendation Changes in Iowa 36 60 *Based on PPI 2001 summary of 327,000 samples using low subsoil interpretation for all soils. Number in red is % medium or below.

  11. K response of cotton varieties has changed 1981 1998 “Based on these recent results, new, higher-yielding, fast-fruiting cotton varieties may respond favorably to higher rates of applied K than older varieties.” Camberato and Jones, Clemson U.

  12. Response to P, K and S beyond recommended levels for irrigated ridge-till corn in Kansas 1 Plus 230 lb N/A with 2 splits (preplant, V4). 2 KSU recommendation. Bray P1 K Site ppm Carr 20 240 Crete 25 180 Gordon (KSU), 2004

  13. Eng. Agr. Leandro Zancanaro Pesquisador Fundação MT/PMA Brazil Potassium and soybean rust incidence on sandy soil - K, + fungicide + K, + fungicide + K, - fungicide - K, - fungicide Nutrient X Disease Interactions Border of the field

  14. Nutrient – Disease Interaction Tour GroupSouthern Brazil, Feb. 2005 Bob Kremer, USDA-ARS & U. of Missouri Volker Romheld, Hohenheim U. (Germany) Don Huber, Purdue U. Paulo Castro, U. Sao Paulo T. Yamada, Potafos Ismail Cakmak, Sabanci U. (Istanbul)

  15. Farming and the Fate of Wild Nature • Science, January 28, 2005 • Authors: Green, Cornell, Scharlemann and Balmford (Dept. of Zoology, Univ. of Cambridge) • Wildlife friendly farming vs land sparing • “Empirical data on such density-yield functions are sparse, but evidence from a range of taxa in developing countries suggests that high-yield farming may allow more species to persist.” Zoologists & ecologists seeing improving productivity as a solution to conservation of biodiversity

  16. Production of U.S. field crops: $62 billion Production of horticultural crops: $41 billion Ross Welch, 2004 … Farming for Health: the Future of Agriculture Are we confident of the yield and quality implications of nutrient management for these crops?

  17. The Known 50 Essential Nutrients for Sustaining Human Life* *Numerous other beneficial substances in foods are also known to contribute to good health. Welch, 2004

  18. Effects of N & K Fertilizers on Vitamin C (mg/100g fr. wt.) Vegetable N1 N2 N3 Swiss chard 67.8 56.1 47.6 Kale, collards 113.0 112.0 66.0 Brussels-sprouts 112.0 101.0 93.0 Vegetable K1 K2 K3 Swiss chard 49.9 56.1 59.3 Kale, collards 98.0 112.0 118.0 Brussels-sprouts 88.0 101.0 100.0 Data from Salunkhe and Deshpande,1991 as summarized by Welch, 2004.

  19. Fertilizing Crops for Functional Foods, 2002 ASA Symposium (isoflavones, lycopene, etc.) Apples — P Citrus — N, K Cole crops — S, Se Echinacea — N, P Flax — N, P, K Soybeans — K Tomatoes — P, K Watermelons — K

  20. Productivity considerationsfor nutrient management • Yield, profitability, competitiveness • Basic calibration & optimization for today’s systems • Nutrients in holistic crop management • Crop/food quality for specific use • Meeting global food needs • Energy/biofuels • Sparing land for nature

  21. A new fulcrum with greater potential to advance and apply knowledge and technology for nutrient management Productivity/ Environment How do we build a bigger fulcrum? Nutrient Management

  22. Building a bigger fulcrum for nutrient management 1. Sell the need internally • Within departments, colleges • Within companies 2. Sell the need externally • To other departments, colleges, states, legislatures, agencies, companies • To potential partners in development and financial support Non-western examples

  23. Commodity Group • United Soybean Board by Foundation for Agronomic Research (FAR) • “Coordination Of Management Practices Enhancing Total Efficiency (COMPETE)” • Improved nutrient management as a means for U.S. growers to compete with South American growers. • $620,000 over two years • Eaten up in 2005 by Asian soybean rust

  24. Foundation for Agronomic Research/PPI Nebraska Corn Board Fluid Fertilizer Foundation IMC Global Nebraska Soybean Board UNL Department of Agronomy

  25. P Fellowship Program Kansas State University Initiated Summer 2004 $40,000/yr; 10 yrs Supporters: Agrium, Cargill, IMC Global, Potash Corp, Simplot Note: IMC Global and Cargill Crop Nutrition are now Mosaic

  26. Building a bigger fulcrum for nutrient management 1. Sell the need internally 2. Sell the need externally 3. Set as our objectives: • Improvement of mechanistic understanding that can address both production and environmental issues • Integration of existing knowledge bits into usable management tools – a growing need driven by technology and consolidation of farms and agribusiness

  27. Nutrient management today needs solutions that simultaneously allow for improvement of productivity & environmental impact Environment Productivity/ Nutrient Management

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