PODCAST: Helping Control Fertilizer Costs
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Jane Stautz grew up on an Iowa farm where she says her parents were ‘conservationists before it was cool.’ She now serves as sustainability lead for Indianapolis-based Advanced Agrilytics, an agronomic services company. Stautz is the guest on the next episode of the Agbioscience podcast, presented by AgriNovus Indiana.
“At Advanced Agrilytics, we combine that infield agronomic expertise with some of the most advanced technology and data analytics behind it to provide that complete assessment of a farmers field,” Stautz told podcast host and AgriNovus Chief Executive Officer Mitch Frazier.
She says farmers work tirelessly to be good stewards of the land and innovation enables them to make better decisions. Stautz says agtech is allowing farmers to increasingly become more sustainable.
“We’re getting down to very small areas within the field, which means our customers are getting the benefit of both the precision technology with the personalized support of a non-farm agronomist,” said Stautz.
Crop inputs, such as seed and fertilizer, have skyrocketed. Prices can vary by region, but according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, ammonia has increased 210% and liquid nitrogen has climbed 159% since September 2021.
With increased costs, Stautz says farmers can use precision ag to help pinpoint where fertilizer is needed. She says that helps increase profitability.
“For example, in the industry, the average nitrogen use efficiency is about 1.2 units of nitrogen per bushel of corn. Whereas with improved data analytics, and the agronomic expertise, our customers across the eight states that we operate in are averaging nitrogen use efficiency is less than .95 units per bushel of corn, many of them are much lower,” said Stautz. “And what that means it’s decreased input cost, especially in these times where high input costs are there, especially around fertilizer.”
Stautz says there is the added benefit of decreased nitrogen – helping to protect waterways and protect the environment.
Listen to the complete conversation between Stautz and Frazier when the Agbioscience podcast drops on Monday morning. And for access to the full lineup of Inside INdiana Business podcasts with Gerry Dick, click here.