As growers start to make decisions for the 2026 season, one question dominates conversation: How can I manage rising input costs without sacrificing soil health or sacrificing yield?  With unpredictable commodity prices and input costs remaining high, every dollar counts. Helena and Horizon Ag-Products’ Organically Activated Fertilizer Program (OAFP) Calculator is helping growers make smarter fertility decisions backed by decades of research.

The OAFP calculator from Helena and Horizon is a sales tool with the purpose of supporting yield potential and real-world savings when growers incorporate Hydra-Hume® DG Coated, Hydra-Hume® 0-0-1/A, Fertilink® DG Coated, Fertilink® A, NutrAsyst® Concentrate, NUE-plex® (Receptor® and Avanti RZ®) and/or Resurge® to liquid or dry fertilizers. Unlike generic calculators, OAFP is powered by over 30 years of Helena’s field trial data, university research and grower side-by-sides.

"This was a concept that was started long time ago, but we only had it on liquid. This journey started 20 years ago, but it's been perfected in the last four by bringing in the ability to add our dry fertilizers to the to the program. We've been able to bring in all of the data that we had and that was huge. The mountain of data that we have today supports this and gives confidence that our salesman can use and be able to make a solid recommendation to our growers using this tool."

Mike Powell, Senior Brand Manager at Helena Products Group

Using this tool, growers can see real-world efficiencies and potential yield gains when Horizon products are added to standard fertilizer programs. When adding Helena’s active ingredients, there is positive impact on nutrient efficiency and soil health. Synthetic fertilizers are not 100% efficient. They can be widely inefficient at best with nitrogen getting 30 to 70% efficiency, while phosphate can be as low as 5–30%. All fertilizers are prone to loss. By adding in products from Helena and Horizon, growers get built in efficiencies. When adding these products into a fertilizer program, you can see 15% efficiencies on nitrogen and 20% efficiencies on phosphate and potassium, proven with over 30 years of data. This tool not only helps growers make smarter fertilizer decisions but also helps them make cost-effective decisions.

“When you're able to show those efficiencies in a calculator and say that a grower's paying a standard fertilizer cost would be $73 an acre and then adding in a gallon of Hydra-Hume into that, you can get that $73 down to $68. You're talking $5 of savings per acre right there.”

Steve Howorko, Director of Marketing and Communications at Horizon Ag

In today’s economic climate, sustainability means more than soil health—it means farm survivability. With high costs and uncertain returns, every application counts. Building confidence and convenience with growers is a priority to thrive not just survive 2026. Building a long-term plan for year after year success is possible with the abundance of information backed by years of knowledge and experience.

“It's a tremendous amount of information that can help a grower make really good decisions to maximize the dollars that he or she plans to spend,” says Mike Powell. “If he or she just spends a little time with our salesman to discuss this and utilize the tool, I think that the grower will really see the benefits.”

While the OAFP Calculator isn’t an entirely new tool, version 2.0 recently launched bringing advancements to our customer base. It began over 20 years ago as a liquid-only program, but the latest version integrates dry fertilizers, decades of trial data and user-friendly features that make it practical for today’s sales team and growers.

Features new to version 2.0 include:

  • Customizable Inputs: Adjust for soil type, pH and CEC to reflect various conditions.
  • Multi-Fertilizer Blends: Model complex programs for both wholesale and retail needs.
  • User-Friendly Features: Simplify navigation and improve usability.
  • PDF Output: Detailed summaries showing cost comparisons, crop prices and product rates.

With 100 users already using this version, Helena and Horizon are learning the needs of our customer base as we move towards version 2.1.

“We have a lot of folks looking at it and trying to understand it so that they have a firm understanding for the 26 planting season,” says Steve Howorko. “They are  going through it, getting familiar with it and understanding where the strengths and weaknesses are so that that when they're ready to go to the field and talk to a grower, they can present the best case and show them what kind of benefits that that we can offer with a certain set of brands on our side.”

In a market where every dollar counts, a tool like the OAFP Calculator is helping growers have more certainty and get the most out of every acre. At the end of the day, the most expensive application is one that doesn’t work. By combining decades of research with practical, field-ready insights, Helena is helping producers make informed decisions that protect profitability and promote long-term sustainability. Efficiency isn’t optional, it’s essential.

With the OAFP Calculator, growers have the data and confidence they need to thrive. To create a sustainable fertility plan that maximizes every dollar, contact your local Helena representative for more information on the OAFP Calculator.