How Little Fertilizer Can You Get by With

I read a recent article in No-Till Farmer talking about Postponing P and K applications to save as much as $52 in production cost.  university of Nebraska suggests that perhaps producers can lower costs by fertilizing to sufficiency rather that shooting for ideal levels.  Critical levels tend to be much lower than what we consider to be ideal levels.  What does that mean?  Until your soil test levels reach the critical point your chances of reducing yields are fairly slim.  So does that mean you can cut back?  I have no idea what your current soil test levels are.  If they are already low, then maybe.  Keep in mind that in dry years, potassium availability decreases as soil moisture drops, so keeping K levels right at that critical point may not be a great idea.  Yes your financial situation can come into play, but mining your soil may not be the best idea ever.