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turf_junkie

Angry at Milorganite!!

turf_junkie
15 years ago

What happened to 6-2-0 in a 40lb bag?

I am very disappointed that Milorganite is now 5-2-0 in a 36 pound bag. Now, a bag of Milorganite does not even have 2 lbs of Nitrogen in it. Not only is that more material to handle and more expensive, but it increases the amount of phosphorus I am applying (which is NOT eco-friendly!).

It is also misleading for the less knowledgeable that the bag still covers 2,500 ft2. Of course there is enough material to cover that amount of ground but it is LESS nitrogen than it used to be!

I always wished the 6-2-0 came in a 50lb bag so each one would be just shy of 3 lbs N. But NOW a 36 lb bag and a LOWER analysis?! I'm out.

Maybe it is just where I live or maybe I haven't looked around enough. Is 6-2-0 in a 40 lb bag still around or this the demise of a great product?

Comments (24)

  • marek88
    15 years ago

    I just spread mine yesterday but I thought it was exactly the same as the one I bought last year. Maybe my Home Depot didnt get the new one yet. Did they at least lower the price to make up for lower weight and quality?

  • okcdan
    15 years ago

    You simply aren't going to find prices this year comparable to last year.....

    Anything you can think of, in any local store, from bread & milk, to some brake shoes at the auto parts store, to a sofa & love seat.... was brought in by a truck... sometimes also a train.... sometimes even a ship. Every method of transportation is burning fuel... with upward spiraling costs. I work in the transportation industry & our fuel surcharges are at an all time high & climbing every week. Let's say you go down to your local Home Depot to get some of those Pavestones to build a retaining wall or build an edge around a flower bed.... the company I work for has pulled several 40,000 loads of those this week & charged more in transportation costs than we ever have. Are we making a lot more money? Heck no! We're merely passing along increased costs. Next time you go buy a n y t h i n g and notice increased price, you know why...

    My 2 cents...

  • turf_junkie
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    The 36 lb bag of 5-2-0 was $11. I forget what it was last year for a 40 lb bag of 6-2-0. My point is not so much that it is more expensive, but there is so much more material to handle and the ratio has changed. (Yes, the difference is significant! - 1 lb N of 6-2-0= 16.67lbs. 1 lb N of 5-2-0= 20lbs).

    If shipping cost is the problem, you would think that they would be trying the INCREASE the ratio. That would make for less material to be applied (and shipped!).

  • egghead2004
    15 years ago

    Huh, I wonder if it the same old processed sh*t and they re-evaluated the final product and found that it really is 5-2-0 and not 6-2-0.

    Maybe they are changing it to sell more of the product?

    Maybe certain regulations have changed with the way the water treatment plant treats the sewerage waste?

    Maybe people in Milwaukee are changing their diets, less protein intake?

  • fish43512
    15 years ago

    I checked about a week ago at Menards and a 36lb bag was 10 dollars. Lowe's had it for 11 dollars for the same 36lb bag. This was in Defiance, OH. Neither was on sale.

  • v1rt
    15 years ago

    We still have tons of 6-2-0 in 40 lbs pound for $10.97 at Lowe's.

  • gbig2
    15 years ago

    I'll never buy it again. $11 at home depot for the 36 lb bags. SBM is cheaper even at $12.50 a bag. Per lb of nitrogen SBM is $3.57. Milorganite is $6.11 per lb of nitrogen. It's a no brainer if my math is accurate?

  • morpheuspa (6B/7A, E. PA)
    15 years ago

    Your math is perfect. I did notice that the bag size went down while the price went up (and the percentage of N also dropped).

    Given all that, about the only plus Milorganite still has going for it is that it responds more quickly (about a week as opposed to three weeks). That advantage isn't enough for me to bother.

  • boxcar_grower
    15 years ago

    I am in the turf business and I can say the price of fertilizer has gone through the roof due to fuel prices.

    My industry hardly ever use milogranite for two reasons. First the iron PPM is way too high and you have no idea what the true percentage is. It might me 4,5,6 or 10 percent nitrogen. When they produce it from sewer sludge it is hard to have any consistancy. I use a product for earthworks called replenish. My favorite is 5-4-5. It is all organic and a favorite of the golf superintendents (which I am)

  • auteck
    15 years ago

    What about Espoma? It's suppose to be organic, but their numbers are much, I mean, MUCH higher than Milorganite...?

    Try 18-8-6

    Check --> http://www.espoma.com/content.aspx?type=p&id=20&intCategoryID=3

    boxcar grower, I too, work at a golf course from time to time. Where are you located?

  • gbig2
    15 years ago

    The Espoma looks good but where do you find it? If SBM is $12.50 a bag and you could find the 50lb Espoma for $36 it would be a wash as far as nitrogen. Plus it would be easier to apply. The find dealers on their web page doesn't work...

  • decklap
    15 years ago

    Roughly 3#'s more product per 1000sq ft. is hardly a deal killer if it's a product you like. It isn't like they're trying to fool you on the label, they're telling you exactly what you're getting. Either way the day's of cheap store bought fert wont be coming back for a long time.

  • philes21
    15 years ago

    Yes, it is a price increase. You should expect that price increase on every fertilizer product, because it's going to happen.

    As to the change in the mix, Milorganite is indeed Milwaukee sewage sludge, dried, treated, and sold. There are certainly a lot of controls on that product, as it has lived through investigations (into heavy metals), and consistency-of-batch, and just about every other thing related to 'biosolids', which is the new word for sewage sludge. That having been said, I love the product. It does what it is supposed to do, and those people make sure it doesn't do what it isn't supposed to do. I don't know yet about the change in the numbers, there may well be an article about that on the web in the near future. It may be true (I'm guessing here) that some additional step was added, or some prior step changed, in the manufacture of it. We'll find out about that in due course.

    There are certainly cheaper ways to put nitrogen on the lawn. In fall, one should put some big-first-number down, something like a 24-2-2, or a 30-2-4. That 5-2-0 cannot compare, in nitrogen delivery: you'd need four times as much, to get the same nitrogen. But in the summer, the big-first-number stuff will burn the lawn, and Milorganite won't burn the lawn. And Milorganite certainly puts 'organic material' onto the lawn, are you kidding? The stuff is MADE from 'organic material'.....

    So yes, the product is good for lawns, bad for pizza and sandwiches, and does not cost what it once cost. We'll all have to evaluate, as we go along, whether the price change is reasonable. And evaluate that as we compare it to other ferilizers, that have also gone up in price this year.

  • m1shmosh
    15 years ago

    Because soybean meal is about $20/50lb bag here, Milorganite is still the best thing going. Scott's Organic fertilizer is now close in price ($16/15lb) but the 4% iron in Milorganite is a huge plus in my book.

  • doopstr
    15 years ago

    The production of Milorganite was recently awarded to a new contractor. There was suspected sabotage at the plant just days before the change over.

    IMO the change of contractors probably bought change to the product and is the reason for the 5-2-0.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Sabotage suspected in disruption at Milorganite plant

  • diyourselfer
    15 years ago

    At least the new bag is BILINGUAL!!!!!!!

    http://www.milorganite.com/homeowners/products.cfm

  • marek88
    15 years ago

    If you really buy Milogranite for N content then you are not getting a deal at all. I use it to with alfa alfa as a form of natural fertilizer but its more to improve soil and help reduce thatch. If you mulch like me this stuff really helps break it all down plus its great for summer time if you need that extra kick. I'm not going to stop using just because it went up in price. Everything is going up in price and we'll all need to learn how to accept it :(

  • HU-791715499
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    AUGUST23,2019 MILORGANITE REDUCES BAG size even FURTHER to only 32 LBS But Keeps Price at 114.99 at WalMART, LOWES, HD everywhere, then tries to tell you that You get just as much coverage as you did with 36 lbs of Product!???

    Not Believeing this or using this NEXT year, I had enough of PRICE INCREASES want a 40 lb Product that is 12.97 Again BEFORE they GOT GREEDY>> BTW those who said MILORGANITE went up due to Fuel Prices, DONT BELIEVE it, the Refiners have been selling CNG and Gasoline at BELOW market Prices for most of 2019 Even with the IRANIAN mess, Prices at Costco Sams, BJ's etc all below 2.35 for Regular this year Today I saw Regular at Costco for 2.099 a gallon.. ; Fredericksburg,Va


    WoodinVirginia

  • dchall_san_antonio
    4 years ago

    You can buy 50 pounds of alfalfa pellets (rabbit chow) at your feed store for that price. Application rate is the same at 15 pounds per 1,000 square feet.

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    4 years ago

    HU and a bunch of numbers, I think you have a typo there.....how about $14.99 (not $114.99) for a 36# bag? And you can find it for quite a bit less if you hunt :-)

    And consider yourself lucky that you can find gas for less than $3.00 per gallon, as I can assure you that is not the case everywhere. So yes, fuel prices DO factor into the equation!

  • mishmosh
    4 years ago

    Despite the trade war with China, soybean meal prices for me have only risen. This year went with Milorganite. I still get great results with it, despite using less product than I would have with soybean meal.

  • morpheuspa (6B/7A, E. PA)
    4 years ago

    Technically, app rates for Milo are about 20 pounds per K, while soy is 15. For me, soy is usually the better buy (I'm in soy country).

    And with the...let's just call it a trade war...prices here have collapsed. I'm paying $11 tops per fifty pound bag.

    Your price is very much going to depend on your locale, but if you happen to be in a place where cotton is grown, also check cottonseed meal. It's a comparable nitrogen kick with soybean meal and applied at the same rate of 15 pounds per thousand square feet.

    And yes, cotton is grown with pesticides. Make sure you're comfortable with that concept before using cottonseed meal on your lawn.

  • Joe BigBlue
    4 years ago

    I found a gallon of Unicorn pee at Walmart for $4.99....I looked around and found it cheaper at Target for $4.75...I bought 300 gallons and applied at 300 gallons per gallon and goddamn my lawn is the jewel of the neighborhood.....



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