 Soil
Fertility May Be the Final Frontier
in Maximizing Yield For
Farmers:
The History and Status of The Fertilizer Industry Amid
Differing Demands for Production of Food and Fiber and a “Greener”
Environment
By Price Allan and Steve Ellis
Monty’s Plant Food Company
Since the end of World War I
enormous strides have been made in meeting the food requirements of a
growing world population and in alleviating hunger. This has been
accomplished in three waves. Early on, relative political stability
allowed for residents of industrialized nations to own increasingly large
plots of land. As the economic engine began to move, they found through
ownership of land came ownership of profits, which inspired increased
cultivation of previously unfarmed land. Next mechanization took center
stage as farmers migrated from mules to machines. With increased
production capacity following two World Wars, tractors were made
affordable for average farm families and soon increased the amount of land
one person could maintain in full production. Two Row planters gave rise
to four row, then eight and now 24+ rows of grain can be planted
simultaneously. Then came the technological revolution: fertilization,
herbicide and pesticide usage became available following chemical
understanding generated through Allied and Axis efforts during World War
II, hybrid development was spearheaded by Nobel Peace Prize Winner Dr.
Norman Borlaug, and genetic modification, which took root in the US in the
1990’s combined with more mundane scientific breakthroughs to maximize
yield while minimizing the effects of weather, pest, disease, and
bacteria. Each wave built on the next and incorporated previous
discoveries until today when 300 bushel yields are not uncommon on US corn
fields. This has been achieved in many parts of the world, though 800
million people remain undernourished, according to the FAO (Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) in a report published in
1997.
While science is still looking for answers in the form of technology many
admit that we may have reached the zenith in terms of production capacity
for most of our current seed stock and equipment. While genetics do hold
some promise a growing reluctance to accept the product (most EU and many
Asian countries will not accept GMO’s) may hold advances back. Herbicide
and Pesticide use may offer fewer answers in the future because they are
facing increasing scrutiny world wide (EPA- EQUIP regulations, UN-Kyoto
Protocol). However, a new field of study may take us below the ground for
answers to a growing global problem. Understanding of how plants obtain
nutrients from the soil for their growth; the progress in producing and
using these nutrients, and advances in crop feeding is increasing and many
believe the answer to world food shortages is lying 6-12” beneath the
surface. Scientific studies in this area did not begin in earnest until
the 1950’s under the direction of Dr.’s Whittwer and Tukey. So even though
both have been around since, well, dirt, it is only now that soil
nutrition and plant feeding have begun to be understood. Making soil
advances the ‘Johnny-come-lately’ to the world of agriculture.
Since 1919 yields continuously increased, at times doubling or even
better. In India, for instance, where the average yield for cereals in
1960 was 0.7 tons per hectare, has since tripled to over 2 tons per
hectare. In the US, according to USDA records, average yield for an acre
of corn was 20 bushel. Today, the 2004 National Corn Grower Yield Award
Winners were consistently near 300 bushel, and the average yield per acre
is 159.6 bushel. Without advances in genetics and herbicide technology the
growth would have all but flattened out in the nineties. Many, however,
are becoming increasingly concerned about the potential long term harm
that farm chemicals and GMO’s might be doing to the environment. As a
result, the EPA and the UN have been strictly monitoring both.
During World War II, anhydrous ammonia, the leading for of nitrogen
fertilizer was used in chemical warfare and in the production of ordnances
for the war effort. However, as the war ended, other uses for the product
were discovered and DuPont Chemical elected to keep many of its plants
operational in order to fill a growing demand by the ag sector. As
relatively cheap synthetic fertilizers became readily available, marginal
and over-farmed soils were brought back on line. This growth was very much
due to the increased use of nitrogen fertilizer as it is the cheapest and
fastest-acting fertilizer. As countries built their own nitrogen
fertilizer facilities there soon developed an imbalance between nitrogen
and the other two primary nutrients, phosphate and potassium.
A recent study by the FAO demonstrated that in a 30 years period, between
1966 and 1996, nitrogen consumption increased 10 fold, while phosphate and
potassium only doubled. An example of this, which is reflected in many
more regions, is China. As Asia’s leading and fastest growing economy, it
is also the largest consumer of fertilizers globally. However, the use is
very much biased towards nitrogen, to the detriment of phosphates and
potassium. In many cases the amount of potassium fertilizer applied is
less than 10% than that of nitrogen, despite the need for potassium to be
applied in roughly the same amounts as that of nitrogen. This potassium
deficiency not only deprives the crop of an important source that helps it
resist disease, but also restricts the crop’s ability to utilize much of
the nitrogen itself, thus resulting in increased nitrate leaching. This
imbalance is causing concern as it is leading to declining rice yields in
some intensively farmed regions and increasing pollution of the Yellow and
Yangtze Rivers two of the largest rivers in China. This laudable effort in
reaching higher levels of production is leaving many harmful side effects.
Fertile soils are today seriously degraded, water logging is a problem in
irrigated areas, and depletion of soil nutrients is increasingly evident.
Consequently, the productivity of most crops is affected.
In the early 1990’s, the UN stepped in through many efforts to curb this
growing problem. While they were happy to see world hunger decreasing,
they felt it was coming at too high of a cost to the environment. At that
time a new field of study began: Sustainable Agriculture. The FAO
characterized the requirements as follows:
“A system which involves the
management and conservation of the natural resource base, and the
orientation of technical and institutional change in such a manner as to
ensure the attainment and continued satisfaction of human needs for
present and future generations. Such sustainable development (in
agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors) conserves land, water,
plant and animal genetic resources, and it is economically viable and
socially acceptable”
According to the UN the world’s population
will grow from the present 6 billion to 10 billion by 2050. All of this
leaves producers facing a major battle: an increasing demand for food,
less arable land, and more environmental hurdles to overcome. The
objective is now not only to nourish an existing and expanding population,
but to do so within the guidelines as advocated by the FAO.
By arresting the leaching of polluting nitrates into groundwater systems
and reversing nutrient mining of the soil, first, better ways of feeding
the world while maintaining sound ecological practices can be found. Then
by increasing yields with low-cost, non-polluting, user-friendly and
nutrient balanced fertilizers. Added to which there has to be a more
judicious use of an ever-precarious supply of water.
Truly “organic” farming is not the answer. According to fellows of the
Hudson Institute, it would not be possible to maintain the current global
standard of living, to produce at current capacity, and maintain an
organic basis. If all of agriculture were to revert back to these more
‘natural’ methods, yields and starvation rates would revert back as well.
Organic yields for food crops are only 50-75% of those of mainstream
farming and production prices are generally higher. Organic produce is a
specialty product. It seems unrealistic to assume that organic farming
will be able to satisfy future needs for substantially increased food
production on existing cultivated land. The organic argument is one born
in opulence and is not an issue in the face of a starving child. While
this does not require a pall-mall run into careless and widespread use of
harmful chemicals, goals can be achieved by utilizing products which are
natural and safe, though not specifically ‘organic.’
Traditional synthetic fertilization has been instrumental in increasing
productivity over the past few decades; it is now part of the problem and
a major stumbling block in assuring future sustainability. Realizing this,
some fertilizer manufacturers have resorted to incorporating organic
additives into their existing chemical carrier,
and marketing the fertilizer as ‘organic’. Responsible chemical fertilizer
companies have been advocating the application of more balanced nutrient
treatments as well as precision farming techniques. However, these methods
entail sophisticated technology and improved educational programs, which
are expensive for developing economies. But, more importantly, while they
“minimize” and “reduce” the detrimental impact of nitrates on the
environment” they do not eradicate the problem.
While technology, mechanization, and development of new lands may have
peaked one area is still yet to be explored fully. The soils themselves
are a frontier ready to be harvested. As we learn more about what makes
soils healthy or unhealthy and address those problems we may yet see
another round of significant yield increases. Only recently have scientist
started researching the intricate world beneath, in what is referred to as
The Rhizoshpere. Until recently we did not know that secretions by the
fibrous root system not only serve as lubricant for a growing root, but
also as an attractant for needed nutrients. Similar to the gelatinous
substance around our own nerve endings, this semi-viscous fluid serves as
a communication tool for the plant itself. We have known for years that
legumes were nitrogen fixating plants. What we have not understood until
recently is how to capitalize on that and to enhance that property in
other plants. Not by working thorugh genetics, but through soil science.
As we learn more we may find that soils once thought unusable because of
brackish underwater streams, or poor land may be able to be reclaimed and
put into production. It may be possible to boost yield while lowering
dependence on ultimately harmful chemicals without hurting yields. In the
near future we may be able to accomplish all fo this and still leave the
environment in good condition. We can if we learn how to balance and
maximize the potential already locked within the soils and by amending
plants rather than by solely amending soils.
It is difficult to present Monty’s technology generically as it is unique.
Monty’s is a non-polluting organically based liquid fertilizer containing
N-P-K and micronutrients which are 100% naturally sourced, and which is
food approved. Monty’s liquid plant food cannot add nitrates to the soil.
The benefits of foliar feeding have been widely known since the fifties,
but large dollar interests from chemical and petro-chemical companies have
kept the research muted. As compared with traditional granular fertilizers
Monty’s formulations can be applied at significantly lower rates, over a
broader time window, under less favorable conditions, and at lower costs.
There is also less degradation, evaporation, and leeching of Monty’s
products when compared with synthetic fertilizers.
Monty’s liquid organic NPK based fertilizer contains a uniquely processed
humic substance that upon penetrating the soil searches out contaminants,
and by isolating them it not only allows for better nutrient absorption
and activity in the plant, but it also starts the process of soil
rejuvenation by stimulating microbiological activity. Again, humics have
been used widely for reclamation and remediation programs within the
extractive industries for years. It is only recently though, that we began
to understand their implications for agriculture. Unfortunately, humics
remained too expensive and too variable in quality for farmers to use them
effectively. Humics have within them the innate ability to restore soils
to a more natural pH level, restore or increase water holding capacity,
and balance the needed minerals, and nutrients necessary for maximum plant
growth.
Monty’s technology concentrates and activates the humic molecule; it
allows it to achieve a very high binding activity, resulting in impressive
results with very little product per unit of earth treated. Our
proprietary base, known as HUMIGEN TM, according to Professor Mir
Seyedbagheri of the University of Idaho, is the purest form of humic acid he has encountered in
his years of research. This means that a farmer can get a more effective
treatment in terms of yield, disease resistance, and quality with
ounces-to-the-acre of Monty’s concentrate as compared to 150-400 lbs. of
traditional fertilizer per acre.
Conclusion
In striving to meet nutritional needs, both quantitatively and
qualitatively, for present and future generations, certain parameters have
to be respected if they are to be sustainable. Farming practices and
inputs should be economically viable, and not detrimental to soil or
water.
The chemical fertilizer industry is striving towards these goals, they
believe that the technology and know-how for dealing with these
environmental problems are mostly available, but they require financial
resources for educational programs and equipment. It is, therefore, only
the more developed economies that are presently addressing these problems
by introducing precision farming techniques. While these methods will
reduce the pollution of soils and groundwater by nitrate leaching, they
will not eradicate the problem.
If the developed economies that together represent 25% of the world’s
arable land are resorting to an expensive solution that is far from
satisfactory, what are the chances of the developing economies from
reversing their present downward spiral in securing future food for their
growing populations?
A quantum leap of faith in innovative and only recently proven technology
is what is required. Monty’s has a solution that is cost effective, and is
both user and ecologically friendly, and it meets all the objectives as
laid out by the FAO, but Monty’s does not have the history, structure or
organization of the entrenched chemical fertilizer companies.
There remain fundamental differences between the FAO’s definition of
sustainable agriculture and what is on offer by industry. Neither
converges on environmental nor economic criteria, thus they fail to
deliver credible solutions for sustainable agriculture. National
authorities, donors of aid and international institutions have to make
some bold decisions, for the path that we are presently taking is not an
option if we are to feed future generations.
Current Economic impact of the Fertilizer Industry Globally and
Domestically
114,608,000 lbs of fertilizer utilized domestically for agricultural
purposes (TFI)
$ 429,780,000 spent domestically on fertilizer for agricultural purposes (TFI)
38,202,666 lbs of liquid fertilizer used domestically (includes anhydrous)
(TFI)
41,876,000,000 lbs of fertilizer used globally (NASS)
$ 157,035,000,000 (US) spent globally on fertilizer for agricultural
purposes (NASS)
178,524,000,000 pounds of N utilized domestically for agricultural
purposes (IFA)
70,528,000,000 pounds of P205 utilized domestically for agricultural
purposes (IFA)
48,488,000,000 pounds of K20 utilized domestically for agricultural
purposes (IFA)
NASS – National Agricultural Statistics Service
TFI- The Fertilizer Institute
IFA – International Fertilizer Industry Association
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Crop Application
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Humic Technology
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