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Making sure fertilizer is working efficiently

An ag specialist in the fertilizer industry says farmers’ management practices have changed in recent years – because of both environmental concerns and commodity prices.

Jim Krebsbach, with Ohio based NACHURS-Alpine Solutions, a liquid fertilizer manufacturing company, says when commodities pricing was good and yields were increasing, a lot of people were putting on comfort fertilizer,” he says.  “They just wanted to make sure the crop didn’t run out.”

He says to better protect the environment and farmers’ investment they need to make sure crop fertilizers are working efficiently.

He says that could mean looking at different ways of delivering nutrients to the crop – like utilizing drip irrigation systems.  “We can basically spoon feed the crop,” he says.  “We can really tailor the nutrients being applied when they are actually needed by that plant.  So you’re able to maximize the efficiency there.”

Last week Nachurs announced the company is extending its partnership with Pathway Biologic, a microbial technology company, in an effort to help farmers further maximize fertilizer efficiency and nutrient stewardship.

AUDIO: Jim Krebsbach, Nachurs-Alpine Solutions