UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Rising prices for diesel fuel, fertilizer and other farm inputs continue to strain the agricultural sector at planting season.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average price for a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. is up more than a dollar per gallon compared to last year, and U.S. on-road diesel prices are up more than $2, for an average of $5.64. Most off-road diesel prices are slightly under $5 a gallon.
Andrew Frankenfield, Penn State Extension educator and senior agronomy educator on the crops team in the College of Agricultural Sciences, said there are several options available to help farmers be efficient.
“While we don’t have much control over the prices that we’re seeing, there are some basic practices that can help farmers save fuel and fertilizer, which will help ease the pain as much as possible,” he said.
To navigate high fertilizer prices, Frankenfield said farmers should focus on return on investment. This means testing soils, knowing current nutrient needs and applying fertilizer responsibly.
Frankenfield offered the following tips for saving on fuel.
Fuel-saving tips:
- Gear up and throttle down: For light-load tasks (requiring less than 70% of tractor power), shift to a higher gear and reduce engine speed to maintain your ground speed. This strategy can reduce fuel consumption by 13% to 20%.
- Match your tractor to the task: Avoid using oversized tractors for light work. Using a large tractor at a rated engine speed for light loads can waste 15% to 30% more fuel than a smaller, properly matched machine.
- Use power take-off economy settings: When using PTO-driven equipment, select 540E or 1000E modes to maintain proper shaft speed at lower engine revolutions per minute (rpm).
- Minimize idling: Modern diesel engines should be shut down if they will be stationary for more than three to five minutes. Idling a typical large tractor wastes roughly three-quarters of a gallon of diesel per hour.
- Transition to no-till farming: Continuous no-till uses approximately 3.6 fewer gallons of fuel per acre compared to conventional tillage
- Tire pressure: Adjust tire pressure based on soil conditions. In moist, tilled soil, using the correct low tire pressure (versus overinflated) can reduce fuel consumption by 20% and increase productivity.
As for saving on fertilizer, Frankenfield provided the following advice.
Fertilizer-saving tips:
- Targeted soil testing: Test every field zone to identify where phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) levels are already in the "optimum" range. Fields in these ranges can often maintain yields for a season without additional fertilizer.
- Shift to maintenance rates: Instead of "building up" soil banks, apply only the maintenance amount that the crop will remove during the season.
- Prioritize macronutrients: Focus your limited budget on primary nutrients. Micronutrient applications should be cut unless they are a proven limiting factor for a specific field.
- Maximize efficiency with the 4Rs: Ensure the Right source, Right rate, Right time and Right placement. Use split applications of nitrogen or in-season sidedressing to reduce leaching and volatilization losses.
- Optimize soil pH: Maintaining a pH between 6.0 and 7.0 is critical for nutrient availability. Acidic soil can reduce fertilizer efficiency by up to 50%, essentially "wasting" expensive inputs.
- Leverage manure credits: Incorporate manure as a complete N-P-K source. To preserve nitrogen, use low-disturbance injection or apply liquid/solid manures before rain to reduce volatility.
- Plant cover crops: Legume cover crops such as clover can credit 30 to 40 pounds of nitrogen per acre toward the next crop; don’t forget to credit soybeans from the previous year.
- Penn State Extension tools: Use the N Tool to estimate nitrogen availability from soil organic matter and cover crop residues, helping you reduce chemical N rates safely.
“A few dollars an acre saving here and there can add up to significant savings,” Frankenfield said.
Lastly, he said farmers should use a budget to analyze the potential returns of one crop over another such as corn, soybeans or other crops, including as grain sorghum or hay.