Nitrogen Smart seminars put dollars in farmers’ pockets
Written by Jonathan Eisenthal
Minnesota farmers could save $77 million dollars a year from improved nitrogen management practices, experts told the audience at a University of Minnesota Extension Nitrogen Smart seminar last week in Owatonna.
“If we do better at nitrogen management, it puts money in our pockets,” said Brad Carlson, an Extension educator who helps lead Nitrogen Smart seminars. “As an industry, the cheapest thing we can do to reduce nitrate losses is managing nitrogen with more precision.”
While helping farmers save through improved management practices, Nitrogen Smart is also helping farmers become more environmentally responsible by sharing information that will reduce nitrogen loss.
Taking place throughout Minnesota farm country over the next few weeks, each three hour Nitrogen Smart seminar includes the latest research on how the nitrogen cycle works in the soils of Minnesota farming operations—this includes detailed explanations of regional differences among different parts of Minnesota based on soil textures, landscape and climate.
Find future dates in Cannon Falls, Park Rapids, Becker, Melrose,
Little Falls and more at z.umn.edu/nitrogensmart
To be more efficient with nitrogen, Carlson shares how farmers must adjust the form, rate and even the timing of nitrogen application to their locale. Binders for the participants include the latest university recommendations for each region of the state.
During the Owatonna session, Extension Educator Greg Klinger talked about the complicated cycle of mineralization (the creation of plant available nitrates) and immobilization (the binding of nitrogen into the soil in a form that plants cannot access).
Beyond theory, his talk was full of useful information to aid farmers in nitrogen management decisions. Denitrification—when nitrogen in the soil turns into gas and returns to the atmosphere—is accelerated in waterlogged soils. He also discussed the important role temperature plays in denitrification. In cool, saturated soils, very little nitrogen is lost. But when standing water on a farm field reaches 77 degrees, as much as a fifth of the nitrogen can disappear in three days—Important to consider when making mid-season nitrogen management decisions such as side dressing nitrogen following a standing water episode, for example.
Another very useful concept is the Maximum Return To Nitrogen (MRTN) calculator. Dan Kaiser, an associate professor in the University’s Department of Soil, Water and Climate, took the group through the scientific and economic research that gives the farmer a suggested nitrogen rate based not only on how many bushels can be produced, but also on the current cost of nitrogen. This helps maximize the return on investment of each acre, but also, by not exceeding the MRTN rate, the field is far less likely to have left over nitrogen at risk for loss.
Organized through University of Minnesota Extension and supported by the Minnesota Corn Growers Association, the series continues through Minnesota farm country, and farmers can find the seminar nearest to them at z.umn.edu/NitrogenSmart. There, farmers can also find a link on that page to take the entire course online.
