Farmers Advised to Look Beyond N, P & K in 2026 Crop Nutrition Planning
Key Takeaways
- •Andrew Tucker of Loveland Products encourages growers to evaluate sulfur, calcium, and carbon alongside the primary macronutrients nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in their 2026 fertility programs.
- •Sulfur has drawn increased attention because rising crop yields have raised nutrient removal rates and atmospheric sulfur deposition has declined with lower industrial emissions.
- •Calcium and carbon are linked to broader grower interest in soil health, where organic matter and biological activity are increasingly viewed as part of fertility.
- •Soil testing and tissue testing remain the standard tools for determining whether secondary nutrients are limiting, since needs vary by soil type, cropping history, and removal rates.
As the 2026 growing season approaches, many farmers are assembling their crop nutrition programs for the year ahead.
Andrew Tucker with Loveland Products says macronutrients will remain an important part of fall and spring applications, but growers should also evaluate the rest of their fertility program.
"Looking at phosphorous, potassium, nitrogen applications, but really encouraging guys to look at the rest of the program. What are we doing about sulfur? How is calcium a player in the whole plant nutrition portfolio? And really looking at carbon," he says.
Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) are the three primary macronutrients required in the largest quantities for crop growth, and they form the foundation of most fertilizer programs. Secondary nutrients such as sulfur and calcium, while needed in smaller amounts, also play essential roles in plant development — sulfur is a key component of plant proteins, and calcium contributes to cell wall structure.
Tucker's emphasis on sulfur reflects a broader shift in crop nutrition planning: as crop yields have risen over time, nutrient removal rates have increased as well, and sulfur in particular has drawn more attention in recent years, in part because atmospheric deposition of sulfur has declined following reductions in industrial emissions. Attention to calcium and carbon, meanwhile, aligns with wider grower interest in soil health, where organic matter and biological activity are increasingly treated as part of the fertility picture rather than separate from it.
For growers planning their 2026 programs, soil testing and tissue testing remain the standard tools for determining whether secondary nutrients are limiting in a given field, since needs vary with soil type, cropping history, and removal rates.
The full report was published by Brownfield Ag News on September 7, 2026, and written by Mark Dorenkamp: https://www.brownfieldagnews.com/managing-for_profit/looking-beyond-n-p-k/
