Spring planting decisions are harder this year. Fertilizer costs are up, supply is uncertain, and every application has to pull its weight to support early root development and season-long profitability.

Enzymes max that fertilizer investment – Here’s How

Situation: High fertilizer cost

Last fall, Tom pre-ordered his seed and locked in the price.

He didn’t lock his NPK, hoping prices might be down this spring. Now urea is trapped partway around the world, and Tom’s facing either spending a lot more to fertilize his corn at planting or hoping the seed will pull enough from the soil to fill the gaps on what he can afford to apply.

Enzyme Impact: Including an enzyme-powered product at planting is going to work with Tom’s conventional inputs by efficiently drawing nutrients from the soil, says Elemental Director of Product Management Chad Effertz. “When we’re operating in really tight margins, efficiency is how you’re going to survive these times.”

How to get that EE Amplified Benefit: Enhanced fertilizer performance.

“Enzymes are catalysts, so when you add them at planting, they catalyze natural reactions in your soil so that nutrients tied up in your organic matter are now available for those newly emerging plant roots. They go to work right away, increasing nutrient uptake, especially Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium you can see soon after application.”

Organic matter in your soil is a giant reservoir of plant nutrients — the challenge is, often they are not available for your plant roots. This is where efficiency powered by enzymes takes effect, by affordably freeing up those nutrients converting them to usable forms. In addition, enzymes make natural sugars available to help feed native soil microbes to be more effective in aiding with earlier root emergence.

We curate enzymes from nature that stimulate specific functions within soil sparking plant emergence and growth, then stabilize them for use with existing inputs and planting systems.

Situation: Sidedress optional?

The Good: Marty got his corn planted early, in March.

The Uncertain: He did so intending to sidedress in May.

Marty is debating ways he can be more efficient with fertilizer application this year. Split applications are one option, but that comes at the cost of extra fuel and labor for the second application — at a time when fertilizer costs have also shot up. The Twist: He did add an Elemental enzyme product along with his regular inputs in the planter box.

Enzyme impact: Overapplying fertilizer to cover losses to leaching or volatilization is a common practice. Folding enzymes into your normal planting operation is a smart and easy way to ensure nutrients are available without overapplication. This efficiency can support lowering your cost to produce a bushel of corn.

University of Minnesota FINBIN data show the average total cost to a farmer producing a bushel of corn in 2024 was $4.70, or $908 per acre (the range was from $3.19 to $6.92 per bushel). A significant cost is fertilizer, and in 2024 the top 20 percent profitable farms spent an average of $170 each per acre, while the least profitable 20 percent spent $224.

“Split application of fertilizer does increase efficiency, but it costs you extra in fuel, equipment use, and maybe labor. Enzymes can add efficiency to your fertility program without the cost of a separate application,” says Effertz.

How to get that EE Amplified Benefit: Fertilizer boost with root zone application.

“Where enzymes fit in upfront is they can be delivered at the root zone right with the seed with no additional cost but the enzymes, which are very affordable for the season-long ROI you get.”

If a grower is looking to pull back on fertilizer costs this year, a good way to do so is to include an Elemental enzyme product at planting. Deliver the enzymes at the root zone so they can go to work right away, and eliminate the overapplying fertilizer.

Situation: Early Planting

Cool soils are frustrating Joshua and Julie.

Although the weather itself is agreeable for planting, they are still seeing low-temperature soils. Still, they really need to get seed in the field, and the clock is ticking.

Enzyme impact: Cold soils mean one thing: Slow. Slow emergence, slow root development, slow microbial activity, and slow soil reactions. Enzymes are not living, they do not require colonization or population-building as microbes do — in a word, they are fast. Effertz says enzymes can be a timely complement to those early-planted fields, to provide that fast kick-start your roots need in the first 45 critical days of growth.

How to get that EE Amplified Benefit: Enhanced soil microbial activity.

“When you’re asking the soil to make nutrients available to your seeds, its microbes need to be active enough to convert those nutrients,” he explains. “That’s more difficult in colder soils.”

Jump-start the crop production: “Our enzyme products are non-living, so they don’t need to build a population in the soil first like biologicals you might see. They get to work right away for the plant and the farmer.”

Situation: Relying on stored potential

With phosphorus costs up, Brad hopes he can depend on his soil.

In addition to applying some of his P requirements each spring, he diligently uses no-till and plants cover crops. He’s wondering if he might be able to rely on the nutrients he’s banked the past few years to bridge a lower application rate (and cost) in 2026.

Enzyme impact: Effertz recommends adding enzymes to maximize what is already banked in the soil as well as any applied inputs. P in the soil is in a constant cycle of plant-unavailable forms, to available, and back again. Many of Elemental’s enzymes are intended to target P, and adding these near the root zone at planting ensures available forms are ready for early root absorption, leading to strong establishment.

How to get that EE Amplified Benefit: Save fertilizer, maintain performance.

“Utilizing enzymes in the root zone to manage Phosphorus is a critical first step in managing P availability on your farm,” he says. “It’s a way to be more efficient in 2026, then maybe in 2027 if the price of P comes down you can incorporate some broadcast applications to rebuild some long term fertility.”

Enzymes enable soil microbes to constantly cycle nutrients through the growing season, keeping them available rather than locking up to be inaccessible. “Enzyme-assisted plants – mid-season and at harvest – from Elemental and partner test plots, show additional biomass and increased nutrient content, with respect to pounds of N, K (potassium), and P. That reliability of increased nutrient content equates to yield gains — and in a tough year, you want options that provide consistency.”

Situation: Insurance fertilizer is more expensive

Robert’s unsure how to make his variable soils productive without extra N.

Most of the land he plants is high-quality, productive soil; but there are a number of zones of variable quality as well. Budget cuts removed grid-sampling from his equation, but Robert is still trying to maximize all his ground without overapplying on some parts — or, worse yet, underapplying.

Enzyme impact: Elemental’s enzymes can bridge those gaps from moderate to higher productivity by making more nutrients available from the organic matter in your soil. “Overapplying, or ‘insurance fertilizer,’ is just not an option with tight margins, so utilizing technology like enzymes that can work with your native soil to release nutrients is a more efficient and sustainable option,” Effertz explains.

How to get that EE Amplified Benefit: Efficiency with consistency.

“If you have to withhold ‘insurance fertilizer’ but fear you may have given up on your top yield potential, that’s where the efficiency of enzymes comes into play.”

Enzymes deliver a consistent, repeatable return with overall yield gain in both low- and high-yielding soils as enzymes help “smooth gaps” across your soil types to ensure nutrient availability across all conditions.

#####

Chad Effertz is Director of Product Management for Elemental Enzymes. Before joining Elemental in 2025, he was Head of Field Technology for Kula Bio. He has had an extensive career in research science, product development, and management, and holds a Masters of Crop & Weed Science from North Dakota State University.

Elemental Enzymes: As legacy innovators, our persistent scientific curiosity drives complex solutions, implemented easily within existing systems. With a scalable pipeline of proprietary amplifiers, we continue to evolve partner opportunities to deliver real value. Elemental Enzymes is solving real problems with complex science to amplify your advantage.