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Time to reevaluate your nitrogen plan

With commodity prices at the lowest levels in recent years, an agronomist says farmers need to evaluate their inputs.

A wet spring and saturated soils this year caused a lot of nitrogen loss and many corn fields ran out of nitrogen at critical times in the growing season.

Purdue University’s Jim Camberato says nitrogen is one of the most expensive inputs on the farm.  “Its price has not fallen with commodity prices,” he says.  “So relative to grain prices it has gotten more expensive – even though the price hasn’t changed.  And we should try to retain every bit of that nitrogen for the crop to utilize.”

He tells Brownfield side-dressing and late spring application are the most efficient forms of nitrogen application.  “There’s often not a difference between early spring – say early March and fall nitrogen,” Camberato says.  “Most of our losses end up occurring in the late May, early June period.”

Because, he says, that is when the soil becomes saturated, increasing the chances for nitrogen loss.