The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Farm

Discussion

March 26, 2007

High fertilizer prices drive poultry sales

By Mike Surbrugg

msurbrugg@joplinglobe.com

PURDY, Mo. — High commercial fertilizer prices are creating more interest in using poultry litter to grow crops from grass to corn.

As of last week, a ton of commercial fertilizer with a 3-1-2 blend of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium could cost $360 a ton.

Eldon Cole, University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist, Mount Vernon, said it takes an average of three acres for a cow-calf unit. At $360 a ton, it would cost $50 an acre for fertilizer, adding $150 to the cost to keep the cow-calf operation going.

The same amount of fertilizer last year averaged $25 an acre, Cole said.

In the face of soaring fertilizer prices, some producers are looking for poultry litter.

The key to litter is getting it from major poultry producing counties such as Newton, McDonald, Lawrence and Barry to farms in counties with no poultry houses.

A federal program to pay costs to haul litter out of Newton and McDonald counties to fields to the north is ending in April, said Lynn Jenkins, U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service district conservationist, Neosho.

Denny Henderson, Purdy, and Dan Goosetree, Rocky Comfort, are among operators who clean litter out of poultry houses and haul it to other areas.

This is a busy time of the year for him because this is when many producers clean litter out of poultry houses. Litter is a blend of bedding material and manure.

Goosetree said demand for litter continues to grow. “We have high demand,” he said. “Three years ago I thought we had more litter than we knew what to do with and since then they have built more poultry houses and there is more demand for litter as fertilizer.”

Henderson said demand for litter is “real good” with demand exceeding supply. He credits this to higher corn prices to more acres of corn and demand for litter that is less costly than commercial fertilizer.

He has hauled litter he removes and buys to crop fields up to 150 miles from Purdy.

Planting corn on more acres increases demand for litter because it is a crop that benefits from and uses a lot of soil nutrients. Often, farmers soon after litter is applied incorporate it into the ground, he said.

Litter costs can range from $12 to $20 or $30 a ton, based on how far it is hauled. Henderson’s costs include price of the litter, hauling and spreading it on the field.

“Hauling costs can be more than the price of the litter,” Henderson said. Not only does he face higher fuel costs, but increased costs for parts and oil, he said.

He is hauling litter every day.

Excessive litter applications on land are seldom a problem, he said. “Farmers do not want to spend more than they need to grow grass or corn. They need to make a living and do not want to abuse the land,” he said.

Using more than needed amounts of fertilizer or litter is “throwing money out the window,” he said.

Henderson said regulations governing how litter is applied to the land have not changed.

“I go by the guidelines for applying litter on pasture or corn and stay away from roads and creeks,” he said.

Henderson, who has been hauling and spreading poultry litter for 12 years, recommends farmers get a soil test to know just how much any form of fertilizer their fields need.

“It (soil test) is the cheapest insurance you can get,” he said.

Details on how to test soil can be obtained at all county extension offices.

Henderson: (417) 466-5087.

Mike Surbrugg is farm editor for The Joplin Globe.

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