With how high nitrogen prices are, some farmers have joked about selling their kidneys. However, Nutrien is trying to take that option off the table. The company is making sure that investment is protected until the crop needs it the most// through a product called ESN Smart Nitrogen.
“ESN is a flexible polymer coat we put on urea at our location in New Madrid, Missouri and our original coating plant which is in Carseland, Alberta, Canada,” says Doug Sibbet, marketing rep with Nutrien Premium Fertilizer Technologies. “We’ll send that out, ready to be applied to the field. It will protect that nitrogen investment for 50 to 80 days from loss to the environment—leaching, denitrification or volatilization.”
Because of how high fertilizers are in the global market, ESN is a way to safeguard your nitrogen.
“We don’t want to apply that and have it go away within weeks,” says Sibbet. “We want to make sure it’s there for when the crop needs it.”
Nutrien has a lot of product in warehouses, but Sibbet says the issue is getting it to retail.
“Farmers are still leery of making that purchase, and it’s understandable,” he says. “But when these guys make that investment into ESN, they’re going to have peace of mind that the product is there when the crop needs it the most.”
Sibbet says that soil tests will set a great baseline to help make your decisions. If you’re interested in ordering ESN, visit their website or talk with your local rep.