Warmer weather has arrived and county small grain fields are erupting in new growth.

This is the time local producers usually take stocker calves off grain fields and apply liquid nitrogen on fields to give the plants a burst of energy as they progress toward harvest.

That process may be thwarted this year due to a shortage of natural gas, the result of a bitterly cold February, which sent demand for gas soaring as well as PresidentJoe Biden’s executive orders that diminished the supply of the commodity.

Kingfisher County OSU Extension Agricultural Educator Bryan Kennedy said Tuesday that liquid fertilizer is in short supply in the county this spring.

Natural gas is the main ingredient in liquid fertilizer.

An article on the U.S. Department of Agriculture web site by Wen-yuan Huang stated:

“The volatile and upward trend in U.S. natural gas prices from 2000-06 has led to a 17- percent decline in the nation’s annual aggregate supply of ammonia. During the period, U.S. ammonia production declined 44 percent, while U.S. ammonia imports increased 115 percent.

“Also, the share of U.S.-produced ammonia in the U.S. aggregate supply of ammonia dropped from 80 to 55 percent, while the share from imports increased from 15 percent to 42 percent.

“Meanwhile, ammonia prices paid by fanners increased from $227 per ton in 2000 to $521 per ton in 2006, an increase of 130 percent.

“Natural gas is the main input used to produce ammonia. Additional increases in U.S. natural gas prices could lead to a further decline in domestic ammonia production and an even greater rise in ammonia imports.”

The article added:

“Nitrogen is vital to a plant’s ability to develop proteins and enzymes, which, in turn, help the plant grow to produce food, feed, and fiber for animal and human consumption (Kramer).

“The importance of nitrogen fertilizers to U.S. agriculture is evidenced by its rising use over time. From 1960 to 2005, annual use of chemical nitrogen fertilizers in U.S. agriculture increased from 2.7 million nutrient tons to 12.3 million nutrient tons ....

“This increase is considered to be one of the main factors behind increased U.S. crop yields and the high quality of U.S. agricultural products ...”

Kennedy estimated as many as 30,000 stocker calves came off small grain fields this spring.

Those in the 750 to 800 pound range headed to feed lots.

Smaller cattle required producers to make additional decisions - sell them at a lower price created by the short-term glut on the market or hold them for another 30 days.

Holding stockers back requires producers to decide which fields to use for graze out, (removing them from grain production).

Kennedy said that some of the earlier sown fields may be starting to joint at this stage.

If the jointed wheat is eaten off it will not produce a grain head, and after that stage the wheat will go into stalk growth rather than leaves, reducing forage.

Kennedy said that stocker operators have generally reported good growth of their animals this winter, especially up to the February cold blast and those with sufficient hay reserves saw cattle continue to make adequate gains during that time.

Those who hold back smaller cattle waiting for higher prices can expect aboutathree-pound-per-day gain on the animals, thus an additional 90 pounds of beef on the hoof per head to sell a month later.

He said producers usually make decisions on grazing out cattle in the last days of February.

Cattle usually come off small grain pasture in the first week of March.

Kennedy said many of the county’s cattle are contracted, thus never go through an auction ring but go straight from the wheat fields to feed yards.

Kingfisher County agriculturalists take a lot of pride in their operations, do a lot of study and make correct decisions, Kennedy observed.