Choosing a Fertilizer Rate When Fertilizer Costs Too Much

A practical, profit-focused guide to fertilizer decisions when input prices are high

By Mitchell Japp, Research & Extension Manager, SaskBarley

Navigating high fertilizer prices and tight margins requires careful thought. Choosing appropriate fertilizer rates is unfortunately not as straight-forward as looking at your soil test and selecting a rate appropriate as your yield goal. The same yield goal (and the fertilizer required to achieve it) may no longer be profitable in today’s economic climate.

Below are practical considerations to help you choose fertilizer rates, protect ROI, and manage risk when fertilizer costs are high.

1. Gain knowledge with soil testing

Soil tests aren’t perfect, but on a per-acre basis they are dirt cheap and provide better insight into fertility needs than any other tool. Fall soil tests are generally not as reliable as spring soil tests, but fall sampling gives you time to plan rates, products, and placement. If fertilizer budgeting is getting tighter, make a commitment to get fall soil tests done, at least on a representative portion of your acres, each year to support better nutrient management decisions.

2. Estimate background fertility levels (when you don’t have a soil test)

If you don’t have fall soil test results—and timelines are tight for spring sampling—you can still estimate where you stand. Start by looking at nutrient removal from last year’s crop. Tools like the Prairie Nutrient Removal Calculator can give you an idea of how much fertility was removed from your fields last year. With record yields in many Saskatchewan regions in 2025, nutrient removal may also be record-high.

Another reference point is aggregated regional soil test data. AgVise (a soil testing company based in North Dakota, but active in Western Canada) publishes their accumulated soil test summaries publicly. This can give you an indication of regional trends. Their testing data shows generally lower fertility levels, but not shockingly low, given 2025 production.

3. Improve fertilizer efficiency with 4R nutrient stewardship

4R practices have been around for years. Use them – they work. The 4Rs are the Right Rate, Right Form, Right Place and Right Time. When fertilizer prices are high, every efficiency gain matters. Prioritize placement and loss reduction, especially for nitrogen. If costs are forcing tougher choices, consider whether logistics should still override agronomy. In the early years of no-till, fertilizer went in the ground at seeding time. Now, with higher yield potential and targets, the logistics of keeping that drill full and running have redirected too much fertilizer to the broadcast spreader. Getting that fertilizer into the soil can reduce losses—particularly ammonia volatilization risk for N—while improving the odds that your fertilizer dollar returns yield.

Learn more about SaskBarley’s ongoing 4R Management project with NARF to understand if split applications of nitrogen can be used to manage yield and maintain malt quality.

4. Reducing rates for one season: a high-risk option

I hate to even mention it as an option, but someone out there is wondering if they can get away with reducing fertilizer rates for just one season. It is definitely risky, and it requires you to understand your starting soil fertility from recent soil test results.

If you’ve been building soil fertility, reducing rates for one season may be feasible, but it will take time to build back up. We have some limited on-farm trial data that shows a moderate reduction in N fertility did not significantly reduce yield. This data is limited though, and may not reflect all situations if yield was limited by factors other than the treatment variable. While reducing rates is not sustainable, and cannot be applied to all situations, it could be an option for a year with high fertilizer prices. Phosphorus and potassium are most suited to one-time reductions, if your past management had built sufficient reserves.

One way to manage cash flow and logistics is to apply a lower base rate at seeding (placed efficiently). This can be combined with a top-dress application later in the season if the conditions improve (good moisture, improved commodity prices, lower fertilizer prices). This practice rarely exceeds the yields achieved with all fertilizer applied at seeding time, but it can add flexibility. The practice is rare but does happen in malt barley and more often in wheat, and it tends to fit best in areas that receive more reliable in-season rainfall.

If you choose top-dressing, be prepared. The application window comes quickly, especially if you want to target yield instead of pushing most of your top-dress fertilizer response into grain protein.

5. Make your fertilizer dollar count (and avoid unnecessary add-ons)

In many Prairie dryland situations, this is not the time to pay extra for Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizer (EEF). In our dry environment, they rarely improve nutrient recovery or yield. They are effective at reducing emissions, but that does not help your bottom line. Focus first on fundamentals: rate, placement, and timing.

6. Use flexibility: variable-rate fertilizer and zone management

There is limited third-party data evaluating variable rate application as it is commonly applied on farms today. But the industry does check its own results. A recent article from SWAT Maps suggests an average of 7% fertilizer savings, even before considering potential yield gains, from better matching rates to productivity zones:  Find it here.

7. Choose fertilizer-efficient crops (where agronomically and economically viable)

Crop choice can change your fertilizer bill. This could mean growing pulses – they can fix their own nitrogen – although rotation fit and market risk still matter (shifting too many acres can pressure prices). Barley is a pretty good choice amongst the cereals for efficient fertilizer use, as is oats. Some varieties are better than others, but it is not well documented (such as in the SaskSeed Guide). We know from past work that the modern varieties (for example, AAC Synergy) are much more N efficient than older varieties (like AC Metcalfe), and can offer higher yield potential when fertility budgets allow. Some recent data suggests that CDC Churchill is even more nitrogen efficient, and AB Standswell is known for its improved nitrogen use efficiency.

Learn more about new malt varieties here.

8. Hedge your bet: fertilizer purchasing and inventory decisions

Buying fertilizer in the fall has historically meant lower prices, but it still requires evaluation each year. If the market moves sharply after you buy, compare the value of using that inventory on your farm versus selling some fertilizer and accepting the yield risk from reduced rates.  In very tight (or negative) margin situations, selling stored fertilizer for a profit could be a rational option – but only if the whole-farm plan still pencils out.

Key Takeaways:

• Use soil tests (especially fall sampling for planning) to improve fertilizer ROI and nutrient management.
• When soil tests aren’t available, estimate nutrient removal and compare against regional soil test trends.
• Focus on 4R nutrient stewardship—placement and timing can protect yield while reducing losses.
• Split applications/top-dressing can add flexibility, but timing is critical and rainfall risk matters.
• Consider variable-rate strategies and crop choice to reduce cost without giving up productivity.