Knowing Your True Cost Efficacy in Chemical, Fertilizer and Fertigation Use

James Graham Prusa

www.PrusaAssociates.com/ArticlesJGP.htm

ROYAL GEMS GOLF RESORTNakhon Pathom, THAILAND

ASIAN GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS SUMMIT

“REVENUE MANAGEMENT”“He who will not economize will have to agonize!”

Confucius

What is a Golf Course Superintendents Professional Role?“A common mistake in greenkeeping is to imagine that

because one form of treatment benefits one course, that it will necessarily benefit another. The greenkeeper should have sufficient knowledge of botany and chemistry to be able to tell exactly what form of treatment is most likely to benefit his greens”

Dr. Alister MacKenzie

FIRST: Know the Big Picture• Chemicals and Fertilizers are built on natural gas and

petroleum – essential ‘commodity futures’ impacts.• Significant impacts in GLOBAL consolidation of

manufacturing and distribution – Revenue Management.• Propensity of human nature in capitalism to employee

negative market influences to maximize profit – nationally controlled with anti-trust laws, internationally very difficult to regulate this drift. Educated, professional consumers are the best counter force against forces of GLOBAL monopoly.

• Exponential demand – emerging modern agriculture in developing nations.

• Ignorance!

What does all this have in common with Food & Beverage Management?

• Good lessons for understanding your chemical and fertilizer costs -- by studying Food & Beverage Management!

• Yes, meet with your chef and bar manager and have a good talk about costing analysis – you’ll all learn something!

Let’s Talk Turf Nutrition!

THE FUNDAMENTALS: •Soil sampling, testing and analysis.•Tissue analysis.

THE FUNDAMENTALS: • We need to cooperate to develop very reliable local

labs in Asia – but we also need to index or correlate them for a period of time to Western services.

• “Indexing” and defining ranges is critical – who says that 1.0 ppm is good or bad? Educate yourself on how the lab analysis is done if you have never had to do the lab work before!

• Ask “5” questions in a row – my rule in legal depositions or soil analysis!

• Use a couple of labs to correlate and use ‘2nd opinions!’• It will take you 6 months to a year to tweak!

TEST YOUR FERTILIZERS: • As Dr. Alister MacKenzie, we must view each golf

course individually.• The unique chemistry complexities of each course can

often vary the effectiveness of a particular fertilizer formulation.

TREATMENT: Fertilizer 1No

Treatment - Check

Fertilizer 2No

Treatment - Check

Fertlizer3

No treatment -

Check

Fertilizer 2

No treatment -

Check

Fertilizer 3

Fertilizer 1

Doing your own quick application test plots is also a good, old-fashioned soil test. It also cuts to the quick on how any particular a formulation will work in the complexity of your own golf course location! I.E. Harding Park.

Single Element Fertilizer Cost Comparison• Doing single element product comparisons for an

element such as Nitrogen (N) is simple.• An example:

Urea 46-0-01000 kilograms or 1 metric ton (mt) costs USD $8001000 X 0.46 = 460 kg of N costs USD $800USD $800 = $1.74 / kg of actual N

Ammonium Sulfate 21.5-0-01000 kilograms OR 1 metric ton (mt) costs USD $6001000 X 0.215 kg of N costs USD $600$60 / 215 = $2.79 / 1 kg of actual N

Complete or Complex Fertilizer Cost Comparison Requires Very Simple Algebra

A + B + C = XX is the total cost of the fertilizer per a given amount of weight such as a metric ton. A, B and C represent the different essential plant nutrients by weight in the fertilizer and there could be more than only three nutrients (variables).Since we know the total cost that X represents, we can simply assign a known or defined cost for B and for C in order to derive the cost of A.

X – B – C = A

Let’s calculate real cost for Phosphorus (P) in a complex, common fertilizer 18-46-0

• The fertilizer is quoted t us at USD $ 900 per metric ton and we want to determine what the real cost of P (P2O5) is.

• The costs of N + P = $900• We already have fixed a good cost of N with urea in previous calculation. We kw N

costs $1.74 per kilogram.• This fertilizer has 18% N and that is 180 kg per mt. 180 X $1.74 = $313.20• USD $131.20 + cost of P2O5 = $900• Thus $900 - $313.20 = $586.80 = cost of P2O5 per mt• 1000 kg X 0.46 = 460 kg of P2O5

• = $1.28 per kg of P2O5

Now doing similar calculations for other P products will allow to find the best real price for your Phosphorus needs in even the cost complex fertilizer.

PRICING STRATEGIES• But first a word about FERTIGATION• Weddings• Travel Tours• Automobile Purchasing• Fertilizers!

• Laws vary nationally• 0.03% Silicone (Si) ???• Organics? Seaweed? Grape

Waste? Worm Casts?

Fortunately computers and integrated spreadsheets / workbooks make the comparisons

instantly:

http:/www.PrusaAssociates.com/SKY72_FertilizerCostingSheet_2010

Knowing Your True Cost Efficacy in Chemical, Fertilizer and Fertigation Use

James Graham Prusa

www.PrusaAssociates.com/ArticlesJGP.htm

ROYAL GEMS GOLF RESORTNakhon Pathom, THAILAND

ASIAN GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS SUMMIT