Improving efficiencies and maximizing Return on Fertilizer Investment (ROFI) is the name of the game every growing season, because that usually means optimizing yield potential and increasing potential profit.
Improving efficiencies and maximizing Return on Fertilizer Investment (ROFI) is the primary objective of every growing season, because that usually means boosting potential profit and optimizing yield potential and boosting potential profit.
Optimizing yield potential and boosting potential profit are the hallmarks of a great growing season, and often result from improved efficiencies and higher Returns on Fertilizer Investment (ROFI).
Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizers (EEF) are one tool farmers have at their disposal to help ensure fewer nutrients are lost to the environment.
Managed by the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials (AAPFCO), the EEF designation was started to address several key challenges related to traditional fertilizer use while enhancing both agricultural productivity and environmental stewardship goals.
The designation originated in 2000 in New Hampshire and was nationally recognized in the 2018 Farm Bill. Then in 2021, MicroEssentials® received the EEF designation.
What an EEF designation means
EEF products reduce nutrient losses to the environment through the slow release of nutrients or by disrupting the conversion of nutrient forms in the soil that are susceptible to loss, while simultaneously increasing nutrient availability for the crop.
Innovative fertilizers, like EEFs, are an important component of 4R Nutrient Stewardship. Combined with 4R practices, the use of EEFs and other emerging technologies will help to promote more sustainable farming practices while also helping to solve the world’s increasing food demand.
How EEFs help improve ROFI
Not only do EEFs help farmers be good stewards of the land, but they also support them in safeguarding their investments.
EEFs enhance the ROFI by preventing nutrient loss due to environmental factors such as leaching, volatilization or denitrification. This ensures that the nutrients applied are more accessible to the crop during peak uptake times throughout the season.
By maximizing the investment of applied nutrients, EEFs can reduce the need for mid-season applications, resulting in fewer passes through the field and further increasing ROFI.
Why EEFs should be a part of your management plan
Learn more about EEFs and why they should be a part of your yearly management plan with Keith Byerly, Mosaic Commercial Sustainability Lead.
