An ad has recently appeared in our local newspaper from a person who will spread liquid fertilizer for $20 an acre. This includes fertilizer and spreading fee. This would be a first for me but looking at the costs of fertilizer it seems pretty attractive. What do you folks think?
Liquid fertilizer at $ 20.00 per acre ?
- Thread starter Med
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I am sorry for not listing the type of fertilizer on first post. The ad states - N TEX 15 - 5 - 5 - I don't have an idea how to figure the amount applied to each acre - The ad dosen't offer an amount applied.
Nowland Farms
Well-known member
Med,
I believe 15-5-5 would be as follows:
15 = indicates the percentage by weight of actual nitrogen in the fertilizer
5 = indicates the percentage by weight of phosphorous as phosphoric acid
5 = indicates the percentage by weight of potassium as potash
I believe 15-5-5 would be as follows:
15 = indicates the percentage by weight of actual nitrogen in the fertilizer
5 = indicates the percentage by weight of phosphorous as phosphoric acid
5 = indicates the percentage by weight of potassium as potash
My question is that if I spread 2000 lbs of 15-5-5 of granular fertilizer on 10 acres - which would be a spread rate of 200lbs per acre - and it costs $290 a ton - I would have $29 per acre not including spread cost- but how do I know that I am getting the equivalent of a 200 lb/per/acre spread with a liquid application ? $20 an acre would be a good deal if I am assured a 200 lb/per/acre rate but if I am getting an 100 lb/per/acre spread rate it would be high. How do you estimate the rate of delivery through a liquid application ?
Med":3977xklz said:
i see right where you are going with this. i cant tell you how to estimate the delivary rate of the spreader. i use to have a chart but can't find it. but i got it from the co-op. this chart tells you what to set your spreader to at a certain speed for a certain volume of flow. even still i dont know how you would figure how much somebody else spreaded if you had'nt set the equiment up your self.
buckaroo_bif
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how much liquid fertilizer for that price???
buccaroo - that is exactly what I am trying to figure out. I have never been around any type of liquid fertilizer. I just ran across this ad in the paper. Custom spraying of the liquid fertilizer for $ 20 per acre. I don't know if the guy hits the field in high gear and puts on an appliciation that I could compare to 100 lbs per acre of granular or if he goes at a rate that I would if I was wanting to spread an application of 200 lbs per acre. The more I look at this I can see a deal like the barn painters driving up with left over paint and wanting to paint a barn real cheap. Is liquid fertilizer pre mixed or do you add water to thin it as much as you want ? - I don't need to pay someone $ 20 per acre to water it.
hayray
Well-known member
You can get some nitrogen on with it but it is a expensive waste of time to get any P and K on, you just can't deliver enough in many cases as compared to granular fertilizer and foliar application has proven to be a real waste of money and time, stick with granular. The 15-5-5 means you would have to apply 100 lbs. of this product per acre to get only 15 lbs. of N, and 5 - 5, so see how ridicuously expensive this can be and I don't know anybody who has a sprayer calibrated to spray on that heavy.
Thanks for the advise hayray - This guy has been running the ad in the local paper everyday for about a month now. I don't know if he is getting any responses. I am going to stick with granular and spread as much as I can afford. At these prices around here, I may be able to walk along and spread it out of a 5 gallon bucket by hand!!!!
hayray":25ikba18 said:
100# of 32-0-0 liguid fertilizer in gallons comes out to be 9.09 gallons that is so easy to apply with any sprayer capable of spraying anything. I'm not sure what a gallon of this 15-5-5 stuff weighs per gallon but it shouldn't be that much differnet.
Bernard
Well-known member
I don't know much anything about fertilizer (organic, that is - I was a bureaucrat in my former life, but I repented). I can cipher just a little. The way I understand this problem is:
Fertilizer formulations indicate the percentage of the elements, usually N, P, & K, contained in the stuff. If you have 100 lbs. of 32/0/0 it will contain 32 lbs. of N (nitrogen) - and nothing else of much importance. If you only had 10 lbs. of the stuff, it'd contain 3.2 lbs. of N.
Now if you had 100 lbs. of this 15/5/5 stuff, it would contain 15 lbs. N; 5 lbs. P; and 5 lbs K. For comparison, let's just concentrate on the nitrogen - to make it easy. Percentage wise, this is roughly half the N contained in the 32/0/0 formula. So, you'll have to apply TWICE as much of this product to achieve the same results (N) you'd get using the 32/0/0.
Recommended application rates are usually based on pounds of actual nitrogen - not pounds of fertilizer concoction - per acre. If you need 60 lbs. of nitrogen, you'll have to apply 200 lbs. of 32/0/0 fertilizer per acre; or, double that - 400 lbs. of 15/5/5 fertilizer per acre to get it.
To figure fertilizer cost, you need (3) things: (1) The formula - how much N is actually in the bag/barrel; (2) The amount of N you need to apply per acre; and (3) the cost.
The ad only tells you the (1) formula and (3) the cost. It doesn't specify HOW MUCH fertilizer they'll put down per acre. You could end up with 100 lbs. of nitrogen per acre (I really doubt that!), or 5 lbs. of nitrogen per acre. Until you know HOW MUCH product the guy is putting down, you can't begin to see if it's a good deal or not.
Anyway, that's my take on it, and if it's completely wrong, someone please straighten me out. I won't take offense. I do have tender feelings, however.
Fertilizer formulations indicate the percentage of the elements, usually N, P, & K, contained in the stuff. If you have 100 lbs. of 32/0/0 it will contain 32 lbs. of N (nitrogen) - and nothing else of much importance. If you only had 10 lbs. of the stuff, it'd contain 3.2 lbs. of N.
Now if you had 100 lbs. of this 15/5/5 stuff, it would contain 15 lbs. N; 5 lbs. P; and 5 lbs K. For comparison, let's just concentrate on the nitrogen - to make it easy. Percentage wise, this is roughly half the N contained in the 32/0/0 formula. So, you'll have to apply TWICE as much of this product to achieve the same results (N) you'd get using the 32/0/0.
Recommended application rates are usually based on pounds of actual nitrogen - not pounds of fertilizer concoction - per acre. If you need 60 lbs. of nitrogen, you'll have to apply 200 lbs. of 32/0/0 fertilizer per acre; or, double that - 400 lbs. of 15/5/5 fertilizer per acre to get it.
To figure fertilizer cost, you need (3) things: (1) The formula - how much N is actually in the bag/barrel; (2) The amount of N you need to apply per acre; and (3) the cost.
The ad only tells you the (1) formula and (3) the cost. It doesn't specify HOW MUCH fertilizer they'll put down per acre. You could end up with 100 lbs. of nitrogen per acre (I really doubt that!), or 5 lbs. of nitrogen per acre. Until you know HOW MUCH product the guy is putting down, you can't begin to see if it's a good deal or not.
Anyway, that's my take on it, and if it's completely wrong, someone please straighten me out. I won't take offense. I do have tender feelings, however.
