Tag: fertilizer

Organic Farmers Should Secure Manure and Compost Early for 2027

Rising commercial fertilizer prices could increase competition for manure, compost, and other organic fertility inputs. Organic farmers may want to contact suppliers now and begin securing the nutrients they will need for the 2027 crop.

Harvest is underway or approaching across much of Texas, so fertilizer for next year may not be at the top of anyone’s list right now. But for organic farmers, I think it deserves some attention before we get much farther into fall.

Commercial fertilizer prices have generally moved higher during 2026, particularly for nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers. Current fertilizer market reports are also raising concerns about higher fertility costs for the 2027 crop. University of Illinois farm economists recently noted that nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer prices are higher going into fall and that farmers are already beginning to make fertilizer purchasing decisions for 2027.1

Line graph depicting DAP, Anhydrous Ammonia, and Sulfur prices from January 2024 to September 2026, showing price trends in dollars per ton.

Farmdoc Daily graph showing DAP, anhydrous ammonia, and sulfur prices from January 2024 through September 2026. DAP and anhydrous ammonia prices increased during 2025 and remained elevated in 2026, while sulfur prices rose especially sharply, climbing from below $300 per ton in early 2025 to more than $1,000 per ton in mid-2026. Source: GreenMarkets via Bloomberg; graph by farmdoc Daily, University of Illinois.

Why should an organic farmer care about the price of urea, DAP, or anhydrous ammonia when those products are not part of an organic fertility program?

Because conventional fertilizer prices help determine the value of manure, compost, poultry litter, and other nutrient sources that organic farmers depend upon.

When commercial nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium become more expensive, manure and compost become more valuable to conventional farmers as alternative fertilizer sources. A farmer who may not normally consider poultry litter or manure can quickly become interested when the nutrients in that material cost substantially less than purchasing the same nutrients in a fertilizer blend.

That means organic farmers may face more competition for the same products they routinely use.

In January, I normally update my “What Is the True Cost of Compost or Manure?” calculations using current fertilizer and manure prices. The purpose is to compare the nutrient value of manure or compost with the cost of replacing those same nutrients using conventional fertilizer.

Those January 2026 calculations already showed why this matters. One poultry manure source priced at about $43 per ton contained nutrients with a calculated fertilizer replacement value of more than $100 per ton before considering hauling and application costs. As conventional fertilizer prices rise, that replacement value rises as well—even though the manure itself has not changed.

This does not mean every organic producer should rush out and buy whatever manure or compost is available. Nutrient analysis still matters. Transportation matters. Application cost matters. Phosphorus loading matters. And organic producers still need to verify that any material they use complies with their Organic System Plan and certification requirements.

But I do think it means we should start asking questions now.

If you know you will need manure, compost, poultry litter, pelleted fertilizer, or another organic fertility product for the 2027 crop, contact your supplier. Ask what they expect to have available. Ask about price. Get a current nutrient analysis. Calculate how many tons you are likely to need. And perhaps most importantly, find out whether that material can be reserved or contracted ahead of time.

Interior of a dimly lit agricultural building with rows of soil or compost piles, and a tractor in the background dust cloud.

Rows of composting poultry litter are turned and managed inside a covered composting facility. The windrows help promote aeration and controlled decomposition, producing a more uniform organic fertilizer material for agricultural use. Photo courtesy of ViaTrac Fertilizer, used from the ViaTrac Fertilizer photo gallery: https://viatracfertilizer.com/gallery/

Waiting until January or February may mean entering the market after many conventional farmers have already begun looking for the same nutrients.

There is still considerable uncertainty in fertilizer markets, and I am not trying to predict exactly what fertilizer will cost next spring. Retail prices can lag wholesale markets because of inventories, transportation, and purchasing decisions made months earlier.

For an organic farmer, the important message is simpler:

Do not wait for fertilizer prices to tell you that manure and compost have become valuable. Someone else may have already figured that out.

I will update the full compost and manure cost comparison again in January as I normally do. But between now and then, it may be worth making a few phone calls and making sure your 2027 fertility supply is still going to be there when you need it.

More information:
What Is the True Cost of Compost or Manure?
Organic fertilizer – what is it, what are the rules, where do you buy it?

References:

  1. Paulson, N., G. Schnitkey, C. Zulauf, and A. Dhakal. 2026. “Sulfur and Increasing Phosphate Fertilizer Prices.” farmdoc daily 16(152), Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, August 25, 2026. ↩︎
Text representing the USDA National Organic Program and Transition to Organic Partnership Program with the USDA Organic logo

Melon Fertilizer Scheduling – Even in Organic Production

There are all kinds of ways and amounts to fertilize melons and each of you has their own “special mix” that works just right for you.  Even though each producer does it differently there is some interesting information about amounts based on growth that might be useful.  Dr. Don Maynard, University of Florida edited the Watermelon Production Guide for Florida for years and in it he listed a fertigation schedule for a seeded and plastic mulched watermelon crop.  I am asked occasionally how much nitrogen I should be applying, and the answer is “it depends.” I use the number 120#’s as the total N that you will probably apply in the season minus what you’ve already put out, say 40#’s which leaves 80#’s to apply in 8 weeks or 10#’s per week.  This is simple, but it doesn’t consider that sometimes the plants need more nitrogen than at other times.  Dr. Maynard includes this schedule which considers the plant’s needs. 

This chart assumes that you will apply 120#’s of total N and that 20% or 24 lbs. of N was already put down as a starter N before planting.  Assuming it takes 15 weeks from planting a seed to final harvest then you just follow along with each week applying the amount of N recommended per day for seven days then go to the next week.  They recommend applying N through the drip each day but not many producers do that so just use the chart to calculate how much N you need and when you need it.  He also adds that if you are using transplants then start on week 3 just shortly after you set out the plants.

 So, what this means is that by week 8 you should have applied 28% of the fertilizer plus the 20% you put down as starter or 48% of the 120#’s.  In week 8 you would apply 1.4 lbs. of N per acre per day or 14#’s of liquid 10% (1 gallon is 10.5 lbs.) per acre per day or 98#’s per week which is about 9.33 gallons per week per acre of liquid 10%.  Just remember that we are talking pounds of actual nitrogen, but no nitrogen source is pure but is a percentage. Divide the pounds of N needed by the percentage to get amount of fertilizer to apply.  1.4/0.10 = 14#’s. Now an acre is a physical planted acre with plants having about 24 square feet per plant. Reminder: in organic you may want to adjust the schedule earlier, but the principal is that melons need lots of N right before and just after they start sizing melons.

You can see that in weeks 9 and 10 the plants are really using nitrogen and after that the plants begin to concentrate on making fruit instead of plant growth, so nitrogen is used less.  Those big plants also have stored nitrogen in the leaves which they can use for maintenance and fruit giving you a safety net.  We see the same kind of response in most field crops like corn where we would put most of the nitrogen out before tasseling to insure it is available when the ears are made. 

How do you do a fertilizing schedule like this in Organic Production? There are several companies that make fertilizers approved for organic production that can supply lots of somewhat readily available nitrogen.  As an example, Nature Safe has a pelleted 11-1-0 for organic production and Ferticell has Active 13-2-2,  Ferticell has an Explorer Liquid 10-0-0 and an Explorer 16-0-0.  I am sure there are many other companies that sell products like these that will add to your fertilizer needs beyond what you get from using high quality compost.

Always check your soil and your compost for nutrient content before you buy and apply these high nitrogen organic fertilizers. As always, I do recommend you check with your certifier before adding any amendments or soil fertilizers.