Caution urged with enhanced efficiency fertilizer
WINNIPEG — If a Prairie farmer is worried about nitrogen losses, a good option might be a 75-25 ratio, says a Saskatchewan agronomist.
That is, 75 per cent urea and 25 per cent enhanced efficiency product. The option should deliver the necessary nitrogen to the crop early in the growing season and provide some insurance against nitrogen losses, thus protecting yield.
That result comes from on-farm research done in Saskatchewan at Lone Rock and Wynyard over the last two summers.
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In 2025, SaskWheat conducted on-farm trials in the province, studying nitrogen management, seeding rates, varieties and fungicides.
The complete results can be found in the On-Farm Results Booklet, published by the Western Applied Research Corporation.
Gazali Issah, a SaskWheat agronomist, helped design and supervise the trials.
In the enhanced wfficiency dertilizer (EEF) trial, the researchers looked at three options for spring wheat:
- 100 per cent urea
- 75 per cent urea-25 per cent EEF
- 50 per cent urea-50 per cent EEF
At one site they used ESN, a slow release, coated fertilizer. At the other they applied SuperU, which employs inhibitors to prevent nitrogen losses.
The idea was to “examine different rates of untreated and EENF fertilizers on wheat establishment, yield and quality under various management, soil and weather conditions in Saskatchewan,” says the says the WARC on-farm results booklet.
Researchers also studied the economics of enhanced efficiency fertilizers.
“Which of these mixes (ratios) improved yields and profits for producers?” Issah said.
50-50 split is a money loser
SaskWheat will repeat the on-farm trial in 2026 because more data is needed to reach a firm conclusion.
However, so far the data suggests there is no yield advantage from enhanced efficiency fertilizers. When data from the two sites was combined, the yield was 64 to 65 bushels per acre for all three options: 100 per cent urea, 75-25 and 50-50.
That result wasn’t a surprise, Issah said.
“These (EEF) products generally are not supposed to increase yield. The intention is to reduce (nitrogen) losses to the environment.”
In a year with a higher risk of nitrogen losses, say an extremely wet and warm spring, nitrogen can leach through the soil or be lost through volatilization.
In those cases, an EEF could increase yield.
However, it’s difficult to predict when such conditions will develop.
If yields aren’t higher, choosing an enhanced efficiency product can hurt the bottom line because ESN and SuperU are more expensive than urea.
For ESN, the difference was about $160 per tonne, based on retail prices in November 2025.
When Issah crunched the numbers, the results from Lone Rock showed that the 50-50 split was the worst financial choice. When compared to urea, profits declined by about $10 per acre.
The financial results were similar at Wynyard.
A 50/50 split reduced profits by $7.42 per acre.
These findings confirm previous research, which has shown that that enhanced efficiency products are beneficial only when nitrogen losses are significant.
Limited data
The first two years of this research (with one site in 2024 and two locations in 2025) didn’t provide a strong argument for using an EEF.
“Overall, reducing untreated nitrogen fertilizer and replacing it with treated product did not significantly affect yield, grain quality, or plant density,” the report says.
However, the data isn’t finalized because the on-farm trial will continue in 2026.
If the environmental conditions are different in Saskatchewan this spring, the results could be different and may favour the use of an EEF.
For now, it seems like a 50-50 split isn’t a great option.
If a grower is worried about nitrogen losses and wants some insurance to preserve wheat yields, applying 75 per cent urea and 25 per cent EEF might be a wise choice.
“The 50-50 didn’t offer any advantage, generally,” Issah said.
“The 75-25 is the mid ground.”
Source: producer.com