To paraphrase an old saying: There's a new urea in town. Agrium, North America's largest producer of nitrogen, is introducing a controlled-release nitrogen product for corn — a patented polymer coating to urea granules — on a limited basis in 2004 in the Midwest.

It will be the only product of its kind on the market, the company says.

A small group of approximately 35retailers will work with a selected group of growers to test the product, called ESN, on a large scale in the new growing season.

“There hasn't been something really new in the broad corn market in fertilizer in years,” says Todd Denzin, diversified products sales manager for Agrium, Calgary, Alberta. “We're going to move this slowly into the market by working with retailers who know how to sell value.”

Murray Hasinoff, marketing manager of diversified products for Agrium, says the product has been sold in the specialty markets for about five years. Agrium has been able to produce the product in its Carseland Plant near Calgary at a price that now makes it competitively available for grain markets.

“Our research shows a yield increase on corn acres of 10 to 12 bu./acre in the field trials,” Hasinoff says. The company says that, on average, using 70% of the nitrogen rate with ESN produces the same yield as using the full rate of other nitrogen sources. Each ESN granule contains 43% nitrogen.

ESN is a coated urea nitrogen fertilizer that delivers nitrogen to the crop with control and predictability, the company says. The precision is possible because of a patented “micro-thin” polymer coating over the urea granule.

Agrium says that a “predictable nitrogen release” occurs because the “unique membrane allows water to diffuse into the granule, dissolving the urea within. The urea nitrogen liquefies into a urea solution, yet remains encapsulated within the coating. As soil temperatures rise, the urea solution moves through the membrane in a predictable manner, more closely matching the nitrogen demand curve of the crop than other forms of nitrogen fertilizer.”

Hasinoff and Denzin are encouraged by the results. “Our focus groups [in Illinois and Indiana] with farmers told us that if leaching can be reduced and they can use nitrogen more efficiently, we've got something,” Denzin says. “The polymer coating also degrades and that's good for the environment.”

It's likely the product will be given a full introduction through corn-growing areas, especially in the Midwest, in 2006. With ownership of Crop Production Services (CPS) and Western Farm Service Inc. (WFS), Agrium has about 200 retail sites that may assist in getting product into farmers' fields. Retailer sites in the Midwest not part of CPS also will be part of the introduction, even in 2004.

“The margins on ammonia are really thin and retailers know this,” Hasinoff says. “We have to keep ESN out of the commodity game and find retailers used to working with growers who are interested in new technologies and want to be stewards.

“Obviously [the cost] will be above regular urea,” Hasinoff continues. “I would expect the price to be 12 to 15 cents per pound of nitrogen above regular urea.”

Agrium is calling this technology “smart” nitrogen, claiming ESN gets the crop fertilizer when it needs it, saves money by using every available unit of nitrogen, is less susceptible to volatilization and nitrate leaching, and allows retailers and growers to take more control over when and where nitrogen is released. Agrium believes once retailers carefully analyze the costs, they will see the benefits of this new technology.

“Some still don't know the true cost of anhydrous ammonia applications,” Hasinoff says. “Once they factor in application costs [including in-season side-dressing] and the efficiency of ESN, we believe retailers will see the value.”

It's all about value, Denzin adds. “Retailers and growers know they are losing nitrogen on their applications. This product brings effectiveness, efficiency and environmental benefits to retailers and their customers.”

Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2007 Penton Media, Inc.