A Better Bang For The Buck: Smart Nutrition™ MAP+MST®

Let’s go straight to the elephant in the room: fertilizer prices. Globally, they’ve been on a tear since January 2021, more than doubling since then with no sign of coming down any time soon.

The cost of fertilizer, coming on top of a tough crop year where yields were down, will have many farmers rapidly dulling pencils as they try to work out how much to use for next year.

Scott Russell, director, ag Canada with Nutrien, acknowledges that, given the current price environment, fertilizer purchase decisions will need to be carefully thought out. He thinks that Nutrien’s Smart Nutrition™ MAP+MST® along with prudent soil testing, may offer some options.

“As growers are pricing their blends for 2022, and recognizing that fertilizer prices have gone way up, I encourage them to pay attention to nutrient density,” says Russell.

It’s worth pausing to define what he means by nutrient density, because it’s not as obvious as it appears.

“Nutrient density refers to the product analysis, or the pounds of available nutrient in the product,” he explains. “We want growers to make the best economic decision for their farm and capture the most value, and one way of doing that is to evaluate the cost per pound of available nutrient rather than the sticker price, or dollar per tonne, of fertilizer.” It’s about capturing greater nutrient efficiency in every granule you purchase. “You want to get a better bang for your fertilizer buck.”

Smart Nutrition MAP+MST, for instance, is a granular phosphate and sulfur product that consistently delivers a nutrient balance of 9-43-0-16 in every granule, which adds up to a nutrient density of 68 per cent. Compare that to a straight MAP product, which has a nutrient density of 63 per cent (11-52-0-0), and other competitive products that offer even less available nutrients than MAP.

Russell says that Nutrien has supplied retailers with calculators that can help farmers compare blend costs using the local prices of various products. The calculator will prove the benefit of the high nutrient density in Smart Nutrition MAP+MST. We believe it has agronomic advantages, and when analyzed as a cost per pound of available nutrient, it clearly has an economic advantage. “They should plan their blend first and then go in and work with a retailer — talk about how best to build those blends and use the calculator. I think they’re going to find a fit for Smart Nutrition MAP+MST.”

He thinks that Smart Nutrition MAP+MST can be a flexible tool within a fertilizer plan, and the best way to start planning is with a soil test.

“With high fertilizer prices, soil testing is a critical tool this year,” says Russell, adding that the hot, dry conditions of 2020 that resulted in low yields also, in some cases, drove high protein levels in grain — protein levels driven by nutrient consumption. He says farmers should find out exactly what nutrient levels they already have in the ground before determining the blends they need for 2022’s crops.

Importantly, Smart Nutrition MAP+MST delivers slow-release elemental sulfur, which is plant available all season long. “That’s important if we go into another dry year,” says Russell. And with a much lower salt index than straight MAP, Smart Nutrition MAP+MST is safe on seed — another consideration in dry conditions.

But for him, “bang for the buck” speaks to more than nutrient density and product flexibility. “With this product, you’re storing more nutrients per granule, so it’s less bulky,” says Russell. “You’re handling less product, you can maximize bin space and you can cover more acres per tonne, which means less time spent refilling the tank during application and lower operating costs.”

Farmers seem to agree. Russell says that with only two seasons in market, sales of Smart Nutrition MAP+MST have almost quadrupled. “The best thing we can do is get it into growers’ hands so they can see for themselves how it works,” he says. “The sales numbers tell us that those who bought it are buying more and they’re telling their neighbours about it.

“There are a lot of very hard decisions farmers are having to make this fall,” says Russell. “The high efficiency of Smart Nutrition MAP+MST gives farmers a fantastic tool to build their blends and allow them some options as they do so. It’s all down to the nutrient density, the superior efficiency that offers in the field and the greater value returned to growers on their fertilizer dollar.”

This article was produced by Glacier FarmMedia’s sponsored content team on behalf of Nutrien’s Smart Nutrition MAP+MST.