Ingredients

At Midwestern Bio-Ag, our philosophy is to always use the best quality ingredients in our fertilizer. Biological farming is about taking care of the soil, and we believe the best way to have healthy soil is to use high-quality, soil-friendly inputs.

Click on any one of the ingredients listed below to learn more about the sources we use and why we chose them.

Ammonium Sulfate

Ammonium sulfate is listed as 21-0-0-24S, and contains 21% nitrogen and 24% sulfur. Ammonium sulfate can come from many different sources, and even though the tag numbers from each different source will be the same, not all ammonium sulfate is created the same.

Ammonium sulfate is a by-product of many industrial processes. At Midwestern Bio-Ag, we prefer to use a source of ammonium sulfate that is a by-product of the caprolactam manufacturing process which is used to create nylon. MBA believes that this source of ammonium sulfate has the best handling characteristics and provides a stable source of nitrogen.

Ammonium sulfate fertilizers provide plant available nitrogen and sulfur to support higher crop yields. Ammonium is a good source of nitrogen because it resists N loss naturally, without any need for inhibitors or additives. Sulfate sulfur is very plant-available, and fills the critical need for rising sulfur deficiencies in the soil.

ESN

ESN®, or Environmentally Smart Nitrogen, has an analysis of 44-0-0 and is an innovative, controlled-release agricultural fertilizer. ESN features a unique semi-permeable polymer coating that allows water to enter the urea granule, dissolve the nitrogen inside based on temperature and moisture, and release as the plant needs it.

ESN® is a product widely used by growers of corn, wheat, canola, potatoes, and other crops. The benefits are numerous including a more controlled release of nitrogen, which makes it a more environmentally friendly fertilizer that also produces better yielding crops. The controlled release allows nitrogen to be available closer to when the plant benefits the most from available nitrogen. Using ESN® has shown to be an effective way to apply nitrogen in preplant applications.

Application Tip:

ESN® should be used in bulk spread applications as the polymer coating can cause some problems with planter augers.

MAP (Monoammonium phosphate)

MAP is Midwestern Bio-Ag's main source of soluble phosphorus when formulating standard non-organic fertilizer blends. MAP commonly contains 10 to 11 units of nitrogen, 50 to 52 units of phosphorus, and has a pH of 4 to 4.5.

Diammonium phosphate (DAP) is a more widely known and used phosphate source in the fertilizer industry. It has 18 units of nitrogen and 46 units of phosphorus. Even though DAP is usually a little less expensive per ton to purchase than MAP, Midwestern Bio-Ag does not sell DAP.

Why does MBA prefer MAP over DAP?

There are a number of reasons we recommend using MAP as your source of phosphorus rather than DAP.

  1. Ammonia formation from DAP
    When MAP is applied, the soil solution pH surrounding the granule ranges from an acid pH of 3.5 to 4.2. In contrast, the initial pH around the DAP granule is alkaline with a pH of 7.8 to 8.2. This high pH, combined with the extra ammonia found in DAP, can result in zones of free ammonia in the soil. These zones have the potential to cause seed germination problems and seedling injury and can potentially interfere with root development.
  2. Phosphorus Uptake
    Phosphorus is taken up from the soil solution by roots in two forms: H2PO4 and HPO4. Research has shown that plants take up H2PO4 more rapidly than HPO4. This factor is important in the MAP-DAP comparison, because the acid soil solution around MAP favors the formation of H2PO4, and thus more potential phosphorus uptake.
  3. Micronutrient Uptake
    Plant availability of the micronutrients manganese, iron, and zinc usually increases in an acid soil solution. The acid zone (pH 4.0) created by MAP enhances micronutrients' availability while the alkaline zone created by DAP (pH 8.0) decreases it.

A note on price:

DAP is only sold as 18-46-0, while MAP can have a variety of different formulations such as 11-52-0, 10-50-0, 11-55-0 and others. This means that prices of MAP can vary widely depending on the formulation.

Potassium Sulfate

Potassium sulfate is also known as 0-0-50 or sulfate of potash, (SOP). Sulfate of potash (K2SO4) is a dual nutrient fertilizer with an equivalent potassium content of 50% potassium oxide (K2O), commonly referred to as potash, and 18% sulfate (SO4).

There are two main potassium sources in the fertilizer industry: SOP and potassium chloride. At Midwestern Bio-Ag, we always recommend SOP over potassium chloride because of the potential negative side effects from potassium chloride. Potassium chloride can be an effective potassium source until the over-application of chloride has occurred. Too much chloride in the soil can cause damage to crops, risking lost income due to lowered yields and quality. Excessive chloride can also leach out calcium from the soil causing crops to require greater amounts of fertilizer. It can create a vicious cycle of the more potassium chloride that's applied, the more that's needed.

Applying a proper balance of nutrients to the soil makes high quality, high yielding, and nutrient dense crops. With today's higher input costs, growers cannot afford to buy ingredients that their crops don't need. Sulfate of potash is the most effective product to build vital potassium and sulfur nutrition for high yields and consistent quality for today’s agriculture markets. Sulfate of potash, unlike other potassium sources, contains virtually no chloride.

Midwestern Bio-Ag uses Great Salt Lake (GSL) sulfate of potash exclusively as our choice for potassium.

GSL uses the sun as its primary energy source to naturally produce sulfate of potash. GSL makes their fertilizer by drawing water from the north arm of the Great Salt Lake into solar evaporation ponds formed by a series of earthen dikes. Over the course of three years, solar energy evaporates water from the ponds and yields the potassium and other minerals they harvest.

Potassium Magnesium Sulfate

Potassium magnesium sulfate, commonly referred to as K-Mag®, has an analysis of 21-22% potash (K20), 10-11% magnesium, and 21-22% sulfur. K-Mag® contains less than 2.5% chloride. The pH is neutral at (7.0).

There are three different grades of K-Mag®:

  1. K-Mag® PREMIUM - a homogeneous, granulated, premium fertilizer primarily used as a raw material in bulk blend fertilizers. It offers many benefits compared to GRANULAR, including less abrasiveness, lower bulk density, more uniform particle size and a larger SGN number, which makes it more compatible with other blended fertilizer materials.
  2. K-Mag® GRANULAR - a naturally-occurring crystalline mineral which can be direct applied or used as a raw material in bulk blend fertilizers. It is an excellent source of non-chloride potassium, water soluble magnesium and non-acidifying sulfur.
  3. K-Mag® STANDARD - a naturally-occurring crystalline mineral which has a typical SGN of 85 and is often used as a source of potassium, magnesium and sulfur in granulated fertilizer (NPK+Mg+S) industry.

Unlike many other magnesium sources, K-Mag® is 100 percent water soluble. Refined and ground into various screen sizes, K-Mag® goes to work immediately upon application provided there is enough soil moisture to support crop growth. The solubility rate depends on its chemical nature and its particle size. The K-Mag® GRANULAR formulation is designed to dissolve slowly, resisting rapid leaching from the soil.

K-Mag® has a maximum chloride content of less than 2.5%, minimizing the potential for fertilizer "burn." Regardless of application rate, K-Mag® does not change soil pH because it is a neutral salt.

Pelletized Rock Phosphate

The typical analysis is 1-3% water soluble phosphate along with 18-24% calcium.

The two main sources of rock phosphate are soft rock and hard rock phosphates:

  1. Soft Rock Phosphate - sometimes called colloidal phosphate, comes from a variety of sources. Some are rock mineral with little or no industrial value because of their low analysis. More typically, soft rock phosphates are the by-products of industrial phosphate fertilizer manufacturing in the form of colloidal "slimes". After processing the rock phosphate ore, the sludge left over is let away into waste phosphate ponds. The dried waste material dug from the slime ponds is marketed as soft rock phosphate or colloidal phosphate.
  2. Hard Rock Phosphate - the sedimentary layer that settled in ancient lake bottoms after being recycled countless times through living organisms. These sedimentary deposits consist of dead animal and plant debris. Hard rock phosphate is a very slow-release source of phosphorous, except in soils that are highly acidic, where the phosphorus breaks down more rapidly.

Phosphate rock is most effective as a phosphorus source on soils with the following properties:

  • Low pH
  • Low available soil P

Midwestern Bio-Ag uses a granulated hard rock phosphate in our fertilizer blends as an excellent way to build soil phosphorus levels and to provide available phosphorus to feed plants all season long. By including sulfate sulfur with the rock phosphate in our fertilizer blends, we create a lower pH fertilizer zone, allowing the phosphate rock to become available more quickly.

Our granulated rock phosphate comes from Idaho and is OMRI listed for use in organic agriculture.

Pelletized Gypsum

Pelletized gypsum provides two essential plant nutrients: calcium and sulfur. Its analysis is typically 21% calcium and 17% sulfur.

Calcium is an essential nutrient that plays an important role in plant growth. It improves the absorption of other nutrients by roots and their translocation within the plant. It also activates a number of plant growth-regulating enzyme systems; helps convert nitrate-nitrogen into forms needed for protein formation; is needed for cell wall formation and normal cell division; and contributes to improved disease resistance. It also is essential for microorganisms as they turn crop residues into organic matter, release nutrients, and improve soil aggregation and water holding capacity. Calcium also helps nitrogen fixing bacteria to capture atmospheric nitrogen and convert into a form that plants can use.

Sulfate from calcium sulfate is in a water-soluble and readily available form of sulfur. Sulfur is a component of three amino acids (cystine, methionine, and cysteine) and is necessary for protein synthesis, chlorophyll transport and nitrogen utilization. It improves root strength and growth of plants as well as the aroma and taste of fruits and vegetables. Sulfur is frequently referred to as the fourth major nutrient.

At Midwestern Bio-Ag we prefer using pelletized gypsum in our fertilizer blends because it is in a form that breaks down easily in the soil, providing plant available nutrients. Pelletization is done by taking premium quality gypsum and finely grinding it (to 200 mesh) and adding a special binding agent to form pellets that hold together in the fertilizer bin, but break down quickly under field conditions. This process produces high quality pellets for easy, clean, accurate application.

Cal-Sul™ and SuperCal SO4 are two common trade names for pelletized gypsum. Both of these products can be used in organic agriculture as they are both OMRI listed.

Pelletized Lime

The conventional thought process is to wait for your soil pH to drop to a level of lost productivity before applying bulk ag lime to your fields. Under this philosophy, when calcium becomes deficient you should apply a large dose of lime, then wait 3 to 5 years for it to become deficient again before applying more.

At Midwestern Bio-Ag, we agree that if your pH is a limiting factor and you need to adjust it, then you should apply lime. But don't wait until calcium becomes a critical factor before applying any. Plants need a consistent supply of available calcium to grow and be healthy, and that means adding the right source of calcium to maintain both soil pH and calcium availability.

We recommend using pelletized lime because it is in a form that breaks down easily in the soil, providing plant available nutrients. Pelletization is done by taking premium quality lime and finely grinding it (to 200 mesh) then adding a special binding agent to form pellets that hold together in the fertilizer bin but break down quickly under field conditions. This process produces high quality pellets for easy, clean, accurate application.

As important as calcium is to plant health, using the most available source makes sense.

Chicken Manure Crumbles

The analysis of our organic crumbles is 5% nitrogen (3% water insoluble, 2% water soluble), 3% phosphorus, 2.5% potash, and 9% calcium.

Midwestern Bio Ag uses only OMRI listed chicken manure crumbles. OMRI listed processed manure meets the requirements of the National Organic Program for organic crop production.

To make our chicken crumbles, MBA uses manure from layer hens. The poultry manure is dried and pasteurized to create a granular fertilizer that can be used as a stand-alone organic fertilizer or bended with other fertilizer ingredients. Poultry manure has long been recognized as a rich, natural source of nutrients and organic matter. It can deliver nutrients to crops in a slow-release formulation that improves soil aeration and water filtration and prevents leaching, run-off and soil erosion. It is also an excellent source of carbon for your soil microbes to feed on.

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