When Farmers Think Differently About Fertilizer

“Growers are at a nice inflection point to do more with less and put intense scrutiny on fertilizer use efficiency. So it’s about getting more into the plant, getting more into the crop of what you put down and not losing as much to the environment,” Karl Wyant says.
“Growers are at a nice inflection point to do more with less and put intense scrutiny on fertilizer use efficiency. So it’s about getting more into the plant, getting more into the crop of what you put down and not losing as much to the environment,” Karl Wyant says.
(The Scoop)

Karl Wyant, director of agronomy at Nutrien, says the past 18 months have particularly put into focus the decisions growers are making about fertilizer. 

On The Scoop podcast he talks about how his team is working to help farmers evaluate all the tools in the toolbox, and at times, do more with less while place an intense scrutiny on fertilizer use efficiency. 

And he shares the two times his passion for soil science led him to living out of a tent. 

“A the director of agronomy I really wear three hats here,” Wyant says. “I help our wholesale fertilizer sales team with positioning nutrients and different talks out in the marketplace at trade shows and conferences and with our customers. I also help our marketing reps on our premium fertilizer side where we sell our ESN controlled release nitrogen product and MAP+MST product. Then the third hat that I wear is myself and my team of agronomists serve as the public liaisons for the company between Nutrien and universities, governments, NGOs, and then the broader public at large.”

With his far-ranging perspective on the fertilizer market, Wyant shares the past 18 months of global pricing fluctuations have brought elevated levels of attention to the product choices, rates and timings. In all, farmers are thinking about fertilizer differently. 

“Growers are at a nice inflection point to do more with less and put intense scrutiny on fertilizer use efficiency. So it’s about getting more into the plant, getting more into the crop of what you put down and not losing as much to the environment,” he says. “That's where a good agronomic consultant and a good honest voice in this discussion can really help move that conversation forward.”

As part of the conversation are a spectrum of products in the enhanced efficiency categories as well as nitrogen stabilizers. 

“There's good opportunity and lots of tools in the toolbox to choose from when trying to improve your fertilizer use efficiency. That can be overwhelming in the market–there's so many tools now, whether it's the stabilizers or the controlled release or enhanced fertilizers. And I think that's the challenge,” he says. 

Wyant adds: “That's one thing that we're proud of here at Nutrien is having this investment in a team that covers different territories. And so we can come in and say ‘hey, what are we trying to get done? What's our goal? And how do we best select the tool that really fits these logistics and operations?’ And we drill down to that kind of honesty, and align expectations with the product and the practice.” 

Wyant was named to The Scoop’s 40 Under 40, sponsored by Nufarm. And his words to share with folks in the early chapters of their career in ag retail include: get your CCA. 

“One thing that really helped me when I got in not knowing a whole lot about the ag industry was I was mentored early to become a certified crop advisor,” Wyant says. “Getting that credential is really like a boot camp in the language of ag retail, the language of how work with farmers, how to solve challenges and more. And get out in the truck and getting out there looking at things. It’s the piece of combining those two, the book learning and experiential learning is super important.

Hear more on The Scoop podcast. 
 

 

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