Economic & Policy Update

MAXIMIZING VALUE: 2021 SPRING APPLICATION OF BROILER LITTER FOR GRAIN CROP PRODUCTION

Jordan Shockley

Spring is here and grain producers across the state are gearing up for planting. One of the many decisions producers have to make before planting is in regard to their nutrient management plan. Broiler litter provides a great opportunity as a complete fertilizer and is being produced and used throughout the state in grain production. However, the value of broiler litter can vary greatly depending on the management practices, nutrient content of the litter, soil test data and commercial fertilizer prices. Spring application of broiler litter maximizes plant-available nitrogen resulting in the maximum economic value of broiler litter. As mentioned in previous issues, the average nutrient content of a ton of broiler litter in Kentucky (as received) is 50 lbs of nitrogen, 56 lbs of phosphorous, and 47 lbs of potassium. In addition to three macronutrients, broiler litter contains other beneficial elements such as micronutrients (zinc and copper), other secondary macronutrients (calcium, magnesium, and sulfur), and organic matter which are difficult to quantify in value. For this analysis, the three primary macronutrients (N, P2O5, and K2O) will be used to determine the value of broiler litter. If your soil test recommendations supported the application of broiler litter and you applied or plan on applying this spring, that is equivalent to 40% commercial nitrogen, 80% commercial phosphorous and 100% commercial potassium per ton of broiler litter (as received). Therefore, the nutrients that would be available to the crop from an average ton of broiler litter in Kentucky would be 20 lbs of nitrogen, 45 lbs of phosphorous, and 47 lbs of potassium. With current fertilizer prices of $306/ton for UAN 32 ($0.48/ lb N), $598/ton for DAP ($0.46/lb P2O5) and $393/ton for potash ($0.33/ lb K2O), the average expected value of broiler litter is $48/ton. This value will vary day to day depending on the price of commercial fertilizer. In addition, this is using the average nutrient content of broiler litter. Each load of broiler litter can vary in nutrient content and should be measured to include into the overall nutrient management plan and supplemented with commercial fertilizer as needed. Incorporating (disking or rain) broiler litter after application this spring can increase the commercial nitrogen equivalent by reducing nitrogen loss into the air by ammonia volatilization but depends on the time between incorporation and application. Rainfall of ½ inch can reduce loss by moving nitrogen through the soil but too much rainfall can cause runoff or leaching. If incorporated 2 days or less after application, commercial nitrogen equivalent increases to 60% resulting in an increase in the value of broiler litter to $52/ton. Commercial nitrogen equivalents decreases 5% for every 2 days incorporation is delayed due to ammonia volatilization (3-4 days = 55% commercial N equivalent & $51/ton value; 5-6 days = 50% commercial N equivalent $50/ton value). If you wait over 7 days, the value of broiler litter is similar to if you did not incorporate it ($48/ton). If you are in a no-till system and applying broiler litter, it is not recommended to incorporate broiler litter just to gain the extra value. Since the value of broiler litter is dynamic and always changing, a decision tool is available so grain producers can enter soil test data, nutrient content of measured litter, commercial fertilizer prices, and management practices to determine the value of broiler litter. The decision tool is titled “Economic Value of Poultry Litter: Grain Crops”. Additional resources can be found on the Budgets and Decision Tools webpage (https:// agecon.ca.uky.edu/budgets)

ADDITIONAL PANDEMIC ASSISTANCE FOR FARMERS

Will Snell and Kenny Burdine

On March 24th, U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack introduced USDA’s Pandemic Assistance for Producers that will be distributing more than $12 billion to assist agricultural producers and other agricultural businesses impacted by the Coronavirus. As a review, Congress passed an additional COVID-19 stimulus package (Consolidated Appropriations Act) last December providing supplementary funding for crop and livestock producers who had received financial assistance from the first two rounds of Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) payments (i.e., CFAP 1 and CFAP 2). New programs were also included to compensate contract growers and producers who had to depopulate animals who were not eligible for the first two CFAP payments. On Jan. 15, 2021 the outgoing Trump administration announced that it would be moving forward with programs for selected provisions of the December 2020 COVID-19 relief bill, but upon entering office, the Biden administration immediately announced they would be reviewing these payments and programs before issuing guidelines. Following the review, the announcement on March 24th outlined USDA’s plan to distribute these funds and introduce new programs which included the following: • Reopen Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2 (CFAP 2) for at least 60 days beginning on April 5, 2021 in an attempt to identify eligible producers (focusing on socially disadvantaged producers) who did not apply for CFAP 2 and for producers who want to modify their CFAP 2 applications. • Corn, soybean, wheat, sorghum, hemp, alfalfa hay, and other row crops (click here for the entire list) along with certain fruit, vegetable and other specialty crops (click here for the entire list) will be eligible

for an additional $20 per acre payment. Payments will be based on 2020 acres and for producers who submitted an accepted CFAP 2 application. Eligible specialty and row crop producers do not need to submit a new CFAP 2 application to receive the latest round of payments. ($4.5 billion) • Cattle producers will be receiving an increase in

CFAP 1 payment rates based on the number of cattle in inventory between April 16, 2020, to May 14, 2020 ($1.1 billion). Cattle producers with approved

CFAP 1 applications do not need to reapply as they will automatically receive these payments. The additional payment rates are:

Eligible Commodity Payment Rate

Feeder Cattle <600 lbs $7/head Feeder Cattle >600 lbs $25.50/head Slaughter Cattle (Fed) $63.00/head Slaughter Cattle (Mature) $14.75/head All Other Cattle $17.25/head TABLE 1

• Contract livestock producers who had to depopulate their animals due to COVID-19 processing disruptions along with non-contract swine producers are eligible for funding under this current round of payments, but USDA declared in their March 24th announcement, “payments for contract growers are currently on hold and are likely to require modifications to the regulation as part of a broader evaluation. FSA will continue to accept applications from interested contract growers during this evaluation period.” • Tobacco was eligible for CFAP 2, but similar to contract livestock producers, USDA states that

“payments for tobacco producers are currently on hold and are likely to require modifications to the regulation as part of a broader evaluation. FSA will continue to accept applications from interested contract growers during this evaluation period.” • Additional funding to support Specialty Crop

Block Grants, Farmers Opportunities Training and Outreach Programs and the Local Agricultural

Marketing Program ($500 Million). • Additional funding (totaling $6 billion) to support new programs including assistance for: -Dairy farmers through the Dairy Donation Program -Biofuels -Specialty crops; beginning farmers; and local, urban, and organic farms -Costs for organic certification or to continue or add conservation activities -Timber harvesting and hauling -Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other protective measures for food/food workers -Improving the resilience of the food supply chain -Developing infrastructure to support donation and distribution of perishable commodities -Reducing food waste -Other possible expansion and corrections to the

CFAP