Split nitrogen applications are an economic and environmental win-win in dry years

Nitrogen fertilizer use in agriculture has been increasing; unfortunately, the same is true for nitrogen losses to the environment. Weather, as well as the frequency and timing of nitrogen applications, can affect how efficiently nitrogen is used by the crop to produce yield and how much is lost. One way to improve nitrogen fertilizer use in corn is to split the application so that some is applied at planting and the rest is applied in the growing crop. Farmers can then adjust the rate and timing of the second application depending on the weather.

Continue ReadingSplit nitrogen applications are an economic and environmental win-win in dry years

Estimating soil’s ability to hold water by combining field sensor measurements

Plants can’t access all of the water that’s stored in the soil. Some water is held tightly in very small pores, some water freely drains through large pores, and some is held loosely by the soil so that it isn’t lost but plants can still use it.

Continue ReadingEstimating soil’s ability to hold water by combining field sensor measurements

Nitrogen inhibitors reduced N2O emissions without permanently changing soil microbial communities

Using fertilizer efficiently is vital for managing agroecosystems sustainably. It makes the most of crop productivity while protecting the environment. As agriculture has intensified, the use of synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizers has increased.

Continue ReadingNitrogen inhibitors reduced N2O emissions without permanently changing soil microbial communities

Crop rotation diversity improves yield resilience

The warming of the earth’s climate and an increasing global population is presenting enormous challenges for the agricultural industry to increase food production. More frequent extreme weather events caused by climate change, such as drought, are problematic for the Northern Corn Belt, where simple two-crop rotations of corn and soybean are common.

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Focus on continuous living cover, not adding more crops to rotation, to see soil carbon gains

Diverse crop rotations - those with a greater variety of crops over time – have been recently promoted as a means to conserve or increase of soil organic carbon, a key indicator of soil health. But taking a critical view of this claim, is it supported by science?

Continue ReadingFocus on continuous living cover, not adding more crops to rotation, to see soil carbon gains