Nitrogen transformation up close: Key details for efficient fertilizer management

In this episode of the Advancing Nitrogen Smart series, we discuss probably the most important topic for many farmers - rate. What makes both over-application and under-application of nitrogen counter-productive in terms of yield? How does a Maximum Return To Nitrogen (MRTN) rate approach differ from a yield-based approach? What are long-term environmental consequences of over-application, and how does this relate to a farmer's operation? What are some ways to address in-field variability when determining rate? Guests:Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato)Daniel Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)Additional resources:Maximum Return To Nitrogen (MRTN) rate calculator Are you overspending on fertilizer?Best practices for nitrogen managementNitrogen Smart (online course)---For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X (formerly twitter), and visit our website.If you have questions or comments, please email us at [email protected] Nitrogen Smart is proud to be supported by the farm families of Minnesota and their corn check-off investment through Minnesota Corn.

This episode of the Nutrient Management Podcast is our annual fall fertilizer outlook. After such a challenging growing season throughout most of the state, how do things look headed toward harvest? Since most of the state went from being too dry last year to too wet this year, how should this affect the approach to fertility management? What role will fertility play in sound financial management this fall? What advice do our panelists give growers as we head into the fall?Guests:Daniel Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato)Jeff Vetsch, U of M researcher (Waseca)Fabian Fernandez, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)Additional resources:Are you overspending on fertilizer?2024 Certified Soil Testing LaboratoriesNitrogen Fertilizer BMPs for Agricultural Lands---For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast and never miss an episode. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, and to our YouTube channel. Be sure to like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X (formerly Twitter), and of course visit our website.We want to hear from you. If you have questions or comments, please email us at [email protected] for the Nutrient Management Podcast is provided by Minnesota's fertilizer tonnage fee through the Agricultural Fertilizer Research & Education Council (AFREC). Learn more at MNsoilfertility.com.

In the 8th episode of the Advancing Nitrogen Smart series, we’re taking about timing. What makes understanding timing crucial to using nitrogen efficiently? Should growers apply in fall, and if so, what source should be avoided? Between which growth stages does corn take up the bulk of a field's N? What do weather extremes teach us about optimal timing? Do some timing decisions negatively affect farmers' finances? In what ways?Guests:Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato)Daniel Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)Additional resources:Understanding nitrogen in soilsNitrogen Fertilizer BMPs for Agricultural LandsDoes fall urea application reduce sugarbeet stand loss?---For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X (formerly Twitter), and visit our website.If you have questions or comments, please email us at [email protected] Nitrogen Smart is proud to be supported by the farm families of Minnesota and their corn check-off investment through Minnesota Corn.

In this episode of the Advancing Nitrogen Smart series, our two experts discuss nitrogen pools. What are nitrogen pools, and where do we find them? How is N actually consumed by the plant, and what forms of N will plants take up more readily? What are some potential signs of N deficiency in the plant? How do nitrogen pools relate back to the 4R's, like timing?Guests:Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato)Daniel Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)Additional resources:Will soil microbes deliver nitrogen to my crop? Yes, but not in a predictable wayNitrogenUnderstanding nitrogen in soils---For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X (formerly Twitter), and visit our website.If you have questions or comments, please email us at [email protected] Nitrogen Smart is proud to be supported by the farm families of Minnesota and their corn check-off investment through Minnesota Corn.

In this episode of the Nutrient Management Podcast, we’re talking about phosphorus fertilizer guidelines throughout Minnesota and the Midwest. What are current state guidelines throughout the region, and are they satisfactory? Should farmers forgo taking a soil test to measure their P levels, or should the test be prioritized? Might state phosphorus guidelines need to be revised, and if so, in what ways? What guidance or advice pertaining to phosphorus guidelines would our panelists tell growers?Guests:Daniel Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)Antonio P. Mallarino, Professor emeritus, nutrient management, Iowa State University (Ames, IA)John Jones, Soil Fertility, plant nutrition, and nutrient management research, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, (Urbana-Champaign, Il)Dorivar Ruiz Diaz, KSU Professor, Soil fertility and nutrient management, Kansas State University (Manhattan, KS)Additional resources:Phosphorus and potassiumUnderstanding phosphorus fertilizersWhat is the best soil test option for phosphorus?Fall vs. Spring: When to apply phosphorus?---For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast here and never miss an episode. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, and to our YouTube channel. Be sure to like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X, and of course visit our website.If you have questions or comments, please email us at [email protected] for the Nutrient Management Podcast is provided by Minnesota's fertilizer tonnage fee through the Agricultural Fertilizer Research & Education Council (AFREC). Learn more at MNsoilfertility.com.

In this 6th episode of the Advancing Nitrogen Smart series, we’re taking an up-close look at the nitrogen transformation process. We’ll talk more about temperature conditions, rainfall versus drainage, and what makes knowing these details so valuable to Minnesota farmers and producers, as well was to growers around the world.Guests:Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato)Daniel Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)Additional resources:NitrogenUnderstanding nitrogen in soils - Nitrogen TransformationVideo: What to know about nitrogen inhibitors and other enhanced efficiency fertilizers---For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X (formerly Twitter), and visit our website.If you have questions or comments, please email us at [email protected] Nitrogen Smart is proud to be supported by the farm families of Minnesota and their corn check-off investment through Minnesota Corn.

In this episode of the Nutrient Management Podcast, we’re talking about manure application in 2024. What’s the value of manure today, given that fertilizer prices are still elevated compared to 2018 and 2019? What does long-term research show us about manure’s value, and how might this information benefit growers and producers? Which manure best management practices (BMPs) help growers be most efficient? In what ways has ManureDB benefited farmers since its launch one year ago? What’s on the horizon for manure management?Guests:Melissa Wilson, Extension manure nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)Chryseis Modderman, Extension manure nutrient management specialist (Morris, MN)Mary Keena, Extension livestock environment management specialist, North Dakota State University (Carrington, ND)Amy Schmidt, Livestock manure management engineer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Lincoln, NE)Additional resources:Manure ManagementManureDBLong-term Cropping Systems Study (NDSU)Manure and minimum tillage: How to balance soil health and nutrient loss goals---For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, and to our YouTube channel. Be sure to like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and of course visit our website.If you have questions or comments, please email us at [email protected] for the Nutrient Management Podcast is provided by Minnesota's fertilizer tonnage fee through the Agricultural Fertilizer Research & Education Council (AFREC). Learn more at MNsoilfertility.com.

In the 5th episode of the Advancing Nitrogen Smart series, we’re talking about the ways the soil stores water, and how nitrogen transforms in that soil under different climate conditions. We’ll discuss field saturation and the water budget, heat units and how to track them, and how these trends have changed throughout MN over the last 60 years.Guests:Daniel Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato)Additional ResourcesNitrogen BMPs, MN Dept of AgricultureEcological and Water Resources Mesonet, MN Dept of AgricultureNational Weather Service Temperature and Precipitation Map---For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and visit our website.If you have questions or comments, please email us at [email protected] Nitrogen Smart is proud to be supported by the farm families of Minnesota and their corn check-off investment through Minnesota Corn.

In the 4th episode of the Advancing Nitrogen Smart series, we’re talking in-depth about sidedress. What are the growth stages critical to growers when sidedressing? What are options for assessing whether to add supplemental N, and how should they be used? How do wet conditions affect yield, and are rescue treatments economically advantageous? What sensing methods are available (such as drones) and what are their pros and cons?Guests:Daniel Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato)Additional resources:The Supplemental Nitrogen Worksheet for Corn: a tool for in-season nitrogen management decisionsNitrogenNitrogen Smart---For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and visit our website.If you have questions or comments, please email us at [email protected] Nitrogen Smart is proud to be supported by the farm families of Minnesota and their corn check-off investment through Minnesota Corn.

In this episode of the Nutrient Management Podcast, we’re talking about supplemental nitrogen fertilizer. What are conditions like around the state? What practices do the worst looking fields seem to have in common? How does a producer assess their situation? What are some recommendations moving forward?Guests:Fabian Fernandez, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)Daniel Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)Jeff Vetsch, U of M researcher (Waseca)Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato)Additional resources:Should you apply supplemental nitrogen fertilizer this year?Corn CalculatorSplit-applying nitrogen for corn: Three keys for successful sidedress applicationsShould you add inhibitors to your sidedress nitrogen application?Fertilizing corn in Minnesota---For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast wherever you listen and never miss an episode! And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and visit our website.If you have questions or comments, please email us at [email protected] for the Nutrient Management Podcast is provided by Minnesota's fertilizer tonnage fee through the Agricultural Fertilizer Research & Education Council (AFREC). Learn more at MNsoilfertility.com.