With the price of 46 granulated through the roof..

[5030]

Switching over to DEF, the cheapest I can find. DEF is 65% Urea and the balance is deionized water so I'll be cutting it by a third and spraying it on my hayfields. 46 granulated locally is pushing 50 bucks a sack. Walmart sells 2.5 gallons of their brand of DEF for 10 bucks. It's a no brainer for me at this point or until 46 comes down in price, if ever.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

Switching over to DEF, the cheapest I can find. DEF is 65% Urea and the balance is deionized water so I'll be cutting it by a third and spraying it on my hayfields. 46 granulated locally is pushing 50 bucks a sack. Walmart sells 2.5 gallons of their brand of DEF for 10 bucks. It's a no brainer for me at this point or until 46 comes down in price, if ever.

could your percentages be reversed?

 

[5030]

I looked up the MSDS content of generic DEF. Used it before but 46 was cheaper. Not now. Nice thing about spraying on DEF is it's a leaf uptake as well and alfalfa thrives on it. I suspect the war in Ukraine has a lot to do with the granulated pricing.

 

[5030]

Some say less, some say more. The lowest I can find is 32% by volume which is still a bargain compared to 46 presently. I'll use my refractometer to check it before I apply it any way. Around here, most liquid ag urea is 28%. All smells like cat pee anyway.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Dissolving urea is strongly endothermic. We used to dump a big sack of prilled urea into a 55 gallon drum and fill it with irrigation water. Ice would form on the outside of the barrel. I think it's what they use in chemical cold packs.

 

[kenmac]

we've been using liquid nitrogen here for some time now

 

[5030]

So have I actually (28 liquid) but that has increased in price substantially as well while the Walmart DEF is stable here at 9 bucks a jug which actually makes it a better buy cost wise.

 

[Snobdds]

I find this thread funny...

You go out of your way to always humble brag about nothing affecting you due to your awesome planning skilz...but, yet...here we are.

I thought would would have a 50 gallon barrel hidden away you bought in 2015 for your anticipation of higher costs.

Just an observation...

 

[etpm]

Dissolving urea is strongly endothermic. We used to dump a big sack of prilled urea into a 55 gallon drum and fill it with irrigation water. Ice would form on the outside of the barrel. I think it's what they use in chemical cold packs.

All the chemical cold packs I have seen use ammonium nitrate.
Eric

 

[etpm]

Switching over to DEF, the cheapest I can find. DEF is 65% Urea and the balance is deionized water so I'll be cutting it by a third and spraying it on my hayfields. 46 granulated locally is pushing 50 bucks a sack. Walmart sells 2.5 gallons of their brand of DEF for 10 bucks. It's a no brainer for me at this point or until 46 comes down in price, if ever.

I got curious about urea fertilizer after reading your post. From what I read this morning ammonium nitrate fertilizer has a certain advantage over urea in that it can be top dressed without losing ammonia to the atmosphere. I think top dressed means that solid AN particles are broadcast over the ground, but I don't know. Does spraying a solution of urea and water let the urea soak into the ground which then slows or prevents the ammonia from escaping into the atmosphere?
I also read that urea has a higher nitrogen content than ammonium nitrate so that it is less expensive to haul for the amount of nitrogen available than ammonium nitrate. But that doesn't really apply to you because you are using DEF.
Anyway, I'm not a farmer and only have a garden that gets fertilized from compost. But I have become curious about farming practices since joining TBN. I read a lot of posts about farming, stuff that will never apply to my situation. Still, I find it interesting to learn about farming.
Thanks,
Eric