Fertilizing on our farm is one pass operation done at the same time as seeding. We run Yielder drills with disc openers. Normally, we run 11-52-1 or 18-46-0 dry for our phosphate requirements and furnish the remaining N. requirements with anhydrous ammonia.

Most fertilizer is placed deep banded with double offset disc at 4 to 5 inches. All NH3 is placed here and most of the dry requirements. Our drills are equipped with cold flow NH3 so evaporation loses are minimal. Dry fertilizer is placed at the heading edge of the deep bander and NH3 at the rear to prevent gumming up the blades.

We also run about 10 to 15 pounds of dry per acre with the seed for starter. This gives the seedlings a good start with nutrients until the roots reach the deep band zone. I believe starter is important, especially with early spring planting when soil temperatures are low and stress is high on young seedlings.

We have converted our drills to a 5"-5"-5" triple row with a 10" dead zone between. Fertilizer is placed in the center below the seed in this seed zone with no fertilizer in the 10" space so weeds aren’t fertilized, allowing for better competition for crop seedlings.