Most farmers facing expensive fertilizer do not simply apply less and hope for the best. The pattern in USDA data is more specific: they test soil and nutrient sources first, time and place applications to match crop demand, vary rates only where fields differ, and count manure and other on-farm nutrients before buying more. Cutting rates across the board is a real response, but it is the riskiest of the options and is most common in crops that were less fertilizer-intensive.
What farmers have done under price pressure
The most detailed U.S. evidence on how farmers adjusted comes from USDA’s Economic Research Service, which summarized observations from its Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) for 2006 to 2010, in a report published in 2013. Those years covered a period of rising fertilizer and fuel prices. The survey period is old, so treat the findings as a record of past choices, not a picture of how farms operate in 2026.
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- Soybeans, cotton, and wheat: operators most often reported reducing application rates.
- Corn: the largest fertilizer user in that comparison. Corn growers more often reported tighter management, including soil testing, split applications, variable-rate application, and soil incorporation.
Crop choice and planted acreage are also economic responses to input costs, since a farmer can plant a less fertilizer-hungry crop or fewer acres. The sources reviewed here do not establish how common those shifts are today, so they should be read as decisions a farmer weighs rather than a documented trend. Any such comparison has to include expected crop revenue, rotation effects, local agronomy, and all other input costs. A smaller fertilizer bill alone does not show higher profit.
The practical moves, in the order most farms should consider them
1. Test before changing any rate
Soil testing shows which nutrients are already present and which may be limiting. Plant-tissue testing adds information during the growing season. Manure and amendment testing shows what those materials actually supply. USDA says rates should reflect crop need, soil conditions, realistic yield goals, and local soil-test recommendations from land-grant university Extension (Farmers.gov and the NRCS Nutrient Management guidance are the official starting points).
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Collecting a representative soil sample requires a probe or auger, but the tool only gathers material. Analysis has to be done by a laboratory, and the lab results still need interpretation against local recommendations.
A flat percentage cut applied to every field is the step the guidance warns against. One field may already hold enough phosphorus, while another may be short of the same nutrient. The sources do not establish a single safe universal reduction rate.
2. Match timing and placement to crop demand
Nutrient uptake changes through the season. Splitting nitrogen into two or more applications lets growers deliver it at points when the crop can use it, rather than front-loading the full amount when losses are more likely. USDA’s Farmers.gov guidance describes split-applying nitrogen to deliver nutrients at targeted times during the growing season.
Injection or incorporation can help nutrients reach the root zone or reduce losses at sites where surface application is a concern. Weather also matters. Applying immediately before a heavy rain raises runoff risk, so timing is partly a site decision.
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3. Vary rates only where the field justifies it
Variable-rate application uses soil-test results and historic yield data to deliver different amounts across management zones within a field. University of Georgia Extension recommends starting with fields that show the most non-uniform conditions and are most likely to benefit. It also advises combining field history with soil-test results when defining zones, and checking whether equipment can apply rates at that resolution.
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Variable-rate work has costs of its own: sampling, zone mapping, equipment capability, and service fees. Whether it pays depends on how much the field actually varies and how the crop responds. It is not a guaranteed saving on every acre.
4. Count manure and other nutrient sources
Manure, soil amendments, and organic by-products can supply plant nutrients, which reduces the amount of purchased fertilizer a farm needs. USDA’s Economic Research Service cautions that manure’s nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium proportions do not necessarily match a crop’s needs, so manure is not a one-for-one substitute for commercial product. Its analysis of seven major U.S. crops found that manure-derived nutrient application rates differed by crop. In 2020, manure was applied to about 8 percent of the acreage planted to those seven crops. That figure describes U.S. use in that year, not a current national adoption rate.
Testing the manure and applying it according to crop need helps avoid excess nutrients, which can build up in soil, leach, or run off. Applying more than a crop can use is the mistake that turns a cost saving into an environmental problem.
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USDA says practices such as no-till and cover crops may increase soil organic matter and biological activity, which may reduce future fertilizer needs. The effect builds over years, and it is not a guaranteed replacement for nutrients. Rates should still be set from testing and farm-specific conditions.
Comparing the options
The options do different jobs. The table below compares them on the axes that matter when a farm is deciding what to change. Where the sources do not quantify a factor, the cell says so.
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| Option | Best fit | Cost to implement | Main risk | Time horizon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cut rates across the board | Only where testing shows nutrients are already sufficient | Lowest direct cost; not quantified in the sources | Yield loss where the crop is short of a nutrient | One season |
| Test soil, tissue, and amendments | Any field, before any rate change | Sampling, lab analysis, and time; not quantified in the sources | Testing alone does not change nutrient supply | Each season |
| Split or re-timed nitrogen | Crops with a clear demand window | Extra passes or application trips; not quantified in the sources | Weather-dependent timing | One season |
| Injection or incorporation | Sites where surface loss is a concern | Equipment or service cost; not quantified in the sources | Equipment limits on some ground | One season |
| Variable-rate application | Fields with meaningful internal variation | Sampling, mapping, equipment, and services; not quantified in the sources | Little benefit on uniform fields | Multi-season, using history |
| Manure and other organic sources | Farms with manure or by-products available | Testing and handling; not quantified in the sources | Excess nutrients, leaching, or runoff | Partly one season, partly cumulative |
| No-till and cover crops | Operations willing to change systems | Equipment and seed; not quantified in the sources | Effects are slow and not guaranteed | Years |
Reading the price figures
USDA’s Economic Research Service has published national average fertilizer costs for corn, expressed in 2023 dollars. They are useful for seeing the scale of the spike, but they are not the cost on your farm.
| Period | Figure | What it measures | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 to 2021 | About $98 per acre (average) | National average fertilizer cost for corn, 2023 dollars | USDA Economic Research Service, 2025 |
| 2022 | $216.81 per acre | National average fertilizer cost for corn, 2023 dollars; the peak in the series cited | USDA Economic Research Service, 2025 |
| 2023 | $178.94 per acre | National average, 2023 dollars; ERS reports a 17.5 percent decrease from 2022, with regional costs differing | USDA Economic Research Service, 2025 |
| Nutrient management plan savings | Nearly $30 per acre (potential) | USDA estimate of average fertilizer-cost savings from implementing a nutrient management plan; reported in a September 2022 announcement, not a guaranteed outcome or a current price-adjusted figure | USDA, 2022 |
Because these are national averages for one crop over past years, they do not tell a farmer what fertilizer will cost this season or what a specific plan will save.
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- USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS): provides one-on-one technical assistance and can help develop a nutrient management plan.
- Your local USDA Service Center: the starting point for contacting NRCS.
- Land-grant university Extension: the source for locally relevant rate recommendations and variable-rate guidance.
- Qualified crop consultants and soil-testing labs: for interpreting results and planning field-level changes.
USDA’s Farm Service Agency also announced $500 million in 2022 for domestic fertilizer production. That was a 2022 announcement and is context for the policy response, not evidence that a grant round is open today. Check program eligibility with USDA directly before planning around any program.
A finance lens on cutting fertilizer
The question for a farm budget is not whether fertilizer is expensive. It is whether a change saves more than it costs in expected yield and risk. A simple sequence keeps that comparison honest:
- Price the fertilizer you would save per acre using your own invoices, not a national average.
- Estimate the yield response to a lower rate using local Extension trial results or recommendations. Do not assume a yield penalty of zero, and do not assume a universal penalty either.
- Multiply the expected yield change by the expected crop price, then compare that against the savings.
- Subtract the cost of testing, equipment, custom application, and planning from the savings.
- Check the downside. Under-applying a nutrient the field lacks can cost more than the saving. Over-applying can create losses that show up later.
- Recalculate each season, since both input prices and crop prices move.
For example, if a hypothetical 100-acre operation saved $20 per acre on fertilizer but lost 2 bushels per acre at a hypothetical $5 per bushel, the saving would be wiped out, before counting any sampling or application costs. The numbers here are invented to show the method, not drawn from any farm.
What the evidence does not establish
The available sources do not give a current percentage of farms using each practice, a universal fertilizer savings amount, or guaranteed yield outcomes. The strongest evidence is U.S.-focused, and regional soil, climate, and crop conditions change the answer. Local prices, recommended rates, program terms, and product availability should be checked directly with Extension, NRCS, or a qualified adviser before any change is made.
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