Rising Nitrogen Fertilizer Prices: Management Options for Corn and Sorghum

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Nitrogen (N) fertilizer has risen dramatically this spring. A majority of N fertilizers are made from natural gas, traded globally, and subject to disruptions in shipping routes. Thus, the situation in the Straight of Hormuz has tightened the global supply of both natural gas and ammonia. For farmers who are already dealing with tight margins, it’s even more important to make the most of N fertilizer applications. Wheat has likely been topdressed, and cool-season forages have received their applications, leaving warm-season crops of corn and sorghum (grain and forage) feeling the brunt of the price rises.

Key Strategies to Reduce Costs

1. Credit All Nitrogen Sources

Be sure to account for:

• Residual soil nitrate through proper soil testing procedures (0 to 24-inch soil samples). This is especially important in areas where soil nitrate is not prone to leaching and in low-yielding or drought-stressed fields from the previous growing season. Grain sorghum is particularly efficient at using residual soil N in the profile. A profile soil nitrate test is a low-cost ($12-15) way to make the biggest impact on reducing N application.
• Previous legume crops
• Soil organic matter content
• Manure applications: on average across manure types, 50% of the N is available the first year, 30% the second, and the final 20% the third year after application.
• Irrigation water

Detailed information on how to adjust N rate recommendations is available in the K-State Extension publication “Soil Test Interpretations and Fertilizer Recommendations in Kansas”: https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/soil-test-interpretations-and-fertilizer-recommendations_MF2586.pdf

For more information about soil sampling guidelines and sample submission to K-State’s Soil Testing Laboratory: https://www.agronomy.k-state.edu/outreach-and-services/soil-testing-lab/

2. Review and Refine Yield Goals

Nitrogen fertilizer recommendations should be based on realistic yield expectations, given the weather outlook, current soil water status, crop rotation, soil productivity, and management history.  Nitrogen recommendations based on a “yield goal” that reflects the very upper end of probability will most likely result in overapplication of N and thus excess costs for the producer.

The K-State Fertilizer Recommendations Excel Workbook is a good resource that lets you enter your soil test information and different yield goals to better understand differences in fertilizer rates based on those goals.  This Excel spreadsheet can be downloaded here: https://www.agronomy.k-state.edu/outreach-and-services/soil-testing-lab/recommendations.html

3. Fertilizer Application Practices

Split N applications. Using delayed or split nitrogen applications on irrigated fields, particularly on sandy soils, often improves nitrogen use efficiency by reducing the potential for loss. Use remote sensing to support in-season N decisions, particularly for corn.  Applying closer to when the plant needs it helps with the use efficiency – i.e., corn in the V6 to R2 stages.  Fertigation of nitrogen is a very efficient way to “spoon-feed” nitrogen requirements in season and also allows for adjustment if yield potential changes in either direction.

Fertilizer placement. In high-residue systems, such as no-till, placing fertilizer nitrogen below the residue or dribbling nitrogen solution in concentrated bands on the soil surface can improve nitrogen use efficiency by reducing N loss.

For grain sorghum, a recent K-State study in Hays found that subsurface application of 60 lb/acre urea produced yields comparable to broadcast applications of about 85 lb N/acre, resulting in a 25 lb N/acre savings when N loss was minimized with placement below the surface.

Nitrogen stabilizers. These products don’t increase N supply, but they can reduce the amount of applied N that is lost before crop uptake. Think of these products as an N-loss insurance policy in situations where the risk of loss could be high.

• Urease inhibitors mitigate the conversion of urea to ammonia, leading to a loss of available N through ammonia volatilization. These are most effective when urea or UAN is surface-applied without incorporation, on fields with high residue levels (no-till or reduced-till), when temperatures are warm soon after application, and if there is no subsequent rainfall event to move the fertilizer into the soil following application. 
• Nitrification inhibitors slow the conversion of ammonium to nitrate, helping reduce N loss through denitrification. These are most helpful in areas prone to denitrification, such as fine-textured soils and poorly drained areas. Eastern Kansas is typically at greater risk of denitrification than western Kansas.

Variable rate nitrogen. Fields with significant variability in soil texture, organic matter, or yield history are often good candidates for variable rate N applications.

Fertilizer Price Outlook for 2026

A recent article by K-State Agricultural Economist Gregg Ibendahl provides more information on the fertilizer price outlook as spring planting has begun in Kansas: https://agmanager.info/production-economics/prices-and-price-forecasts/fertilizer-price-outlook-2026. Visit the AgManager.info website for related articles as well.

 

Lucas Haag, Agronomist-in-Charge, Tribune
lhaag@ksu.edu

Tina Sullivan, Northeast Area Agronomist
tsullivan@ksu.edu

Jeanne Falk Jones, Northwest Area Agronomist
jfalkjones@ksu.edu

Dorivar Ruiz Diaz, Soil Fertility Specialist
ruizdiaz@ksu.edu

Tags:  grain sorghum corn fertilizer nitrogen nitrogen loss fertilizer recommendations