Cost Per Acre, Not Cost Per Gallon
As the interest in using GMS and the Growers Program gained momentum, over time, the price per gallon discussion was always used by our competition during sales presentations. The discussion always centered on the fact that the cheapest price per pound of nutrient was the best approach to purchasing fertilizer.
As the environmental movement was started with the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in the early 1970s, more research surfaced showing that element loss from the use of fertilizer could be reduced through various approaches. For example, during the 1990s, various publications discussed the availability of elements when the elements were presented to the crop in various chemical forms. One such publication High Quality Plant Food Advantages: Evaluation of Crop Nutrients -suggested that high quality (purer) forms of elements were more available to the growing crop. This particular publication was authored by several individuals from various universities. The data from this publication and from the research at Michigan State University in the early 1950s was used to create the Cost & Availability Calculator which can be used to predict the per acre cost and availability of various fertilizer approaches.
Over the years, Growers Mineral, Corp. has come to realize that many farmers have no idea how much they are spending per acre on their fertilizer applications. With the help of the Cost & Availability Calculator, the farmer can calculate what is actually being spent per acre for fertilizer, plus what amount of fertilizer could possibly be lost to the environment. Growers Mineral, Corp. used data from this publication in conjunction with spread sheet technology to help the producer decide the most efficient use of applied elements to the environment.
The original intent of the calculator was to demonstrate the efficiency of GMS for either plant use or expended cost, and the Cost & Availability Calculator does exactly that. However, the calculator can also help the farmer examine other fertilizer comparisons also. For example, the farmer can use the calculator to decide whether the bulk spreading of urea is a better approach for fertilization than side dressing UAN28.
Therefore, the Cost & Availability Calculator can help the producer solve issues that are not all related to the use of GMS. At Growers Mineral, Corp., this approach to customer service (content marketing) dates back to 1955 and the approach of the founders: education, education, education.
This is an excerpt from the Early Fall Growers Solution (2021) written by Jim Halbeisen, Director of Research.
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