What Are Your N Practices?

By: Farm Progress, The Farmer

Nitrogen, an essential nutrient for optimum corn production, can be supplied from soil organic matter, a previous legume crop, livestock manure and commercial fertilizers.

However, N management in soils is challenging. Improper use can cause environmental implications. Too often, when these events surface, farmers’ land use practices are questioned by the public and government officials. Non-farmers want to know more about what farmers do to raise crops and to understand why certain management practices are followed.

To gain insight into farmers’ use of N to help educate consumers about nutrient management, staff with the Minnesota Ag Water Resource Center conducted a survey during Farmfest in early August. The response, though small and limited in geographic scope, offered the following information, according to Jerome Lensing, MAWRC nutrient specialist:

Who makes N rate decisions? Sixty-three percent of respondents said decisions were made by the farmer. Twenty-seven percent indicated that N decisions were made by both the farmer and the agronomist.

What are N rates are based on? Of the respondents, 73% said they considered their past experience, with 59% of them following university recommendations. Twenty-seven percent used their previous experience combined with university suggestions.

Do you use predictive models? Among respondents, 31% said they use a predictive model, such as Adapt N, Climate Corp. FieldView, Encirca N, Farmers Edge or another.