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Farmers, agronomists evaluating nitrogen ‘loss’

Farmers and agronomists across the Midwest are working to determine how much nitrogen has been lost because of excessive rainfall this spring.

But Todd Claussen, director of agronomy for Iowa-based Landus Cooperative, says the nitrogen is not necessarily “lost”.

“I’m not going to call it ‘nitrogen loss’–but it’s likely in a position where it might not be available to the crop right now,” Claussen says.

That’s the challenge, he says—finding out where the nitrogen is at in the soil and determining if it will be available to the corn crop when it really needs it.

“When corn gets to be about knee-high, from that level up through tasseling, it’s going to need 150 to 160 to 170 pounds of total nitrogen in that 20 to 22 day period,” Claussen says. “So we’re trying to figure out, is it available and is it going to be available.

“The one thing we’re not suggesting is broadly making blind applications of nitrogen. We’re trying to, at least, make a better estimation of what’s available to the crop—and what is that crop going to be able to reach and get to, as opposed to doing it blindly.”

Claussen says many corn fields in Iowa are also showing signs of sulfur deficiency because of excessive moisture.

AUDIO: Todd Claussen