|
Managing for nitrogen crop needs is a main driver for achieving top yields. Nitrogen fertilizer, however, is also prone to a few forms of losses: by water and by air. All of these losses, by denitrification, leaching, or immobilization, can cost real dollars in underused or unused fertilizer, and losses by nitrous oxide emissions drag on the environment.
Farmers do several things to mitigate loss — from split-applying N fertilizer, to soil testing ahead of application to decrease the risk of over-applying, to banding, and protecting N with products.
This week, we broached the N loss subject on a few fronts, from an episode of The Agronomists on Monday night, to the future of N management in the lastest Farming Forward video.
Soil testing is a key part of the nitrogen management puzzle. For the first time, we're sharing some of the demographic data from the September 2022 Fertilizer Emissions study. Check out the post for how farm size and farmer age are influencing soil testing frequency.
We also want to know how you're planning to reduce N losses in our latest poll. Have your say!
- Lyndsey Smith
Editor, RealAgriculture
| 
