Houston, 15 May (Argus) — A new web-based tool developed by a team at Cornell University may reduce corn growers' nitrogen fertilizer applications in the future.
The tool, called Adapt-N, draws on local soil, crop and weather data stored at Cornell's Northeast Regional Climate Center, delivering real time data to about 600 subscribers. While the tool aims to provide a better estimate of a corn crops' nitrogen requirement, researchers developing the product say Adapt-N will also help boost farmers' profits.
The tool could reduce nitrogen fertilizer applications by 25pc, Cornell department of crop and soil sciences professor Harold van Es said.
The US consumed about 11.73mn t of nitrogen nutrients in 2010, according to the International Fertilizer Industry Association's (IFA) latest data. A 25pc reduction on the US's 2010 consumption figure would reflect a cut of about 2.93mn t of nitrogen.
The team at Cornell has been working on Adapt-N for the past eight years. Testing of the program has taken place since 2011, as 84 strip trials on commercial and research farms in New York and Iowa were conducted in the last two years at sidedress time. In a 2012 trial on a 1,500-acre corn and soybean farm in Moravia, New York, farmers who followed Adapt-N recommendations on a 10-acre strip of a 100-acre field applied 80 lbs/acre of nitrogen instead of the 220lbs/acre applied to the rest of the field with no loss in yield. Savings from fertilizer costs would have totaled about $70,000 had the rest of the farm followed the Adapt-N recommendation, according to the study, which assumed nitrogen costs of $0.60/lb.
While current Argus nitrogen prices are much lower than the values used in the trials, current savings to growers would still be significant. Based on last week's Argus prices, the median cost for one short ton of urea off a Nola barge would be $324. When considering urea with 46pc nitrogen content, this would equate to about $0.35/lb of nitrogen.
“Agronomists tend to recommend higher rates to manage risk,” van Es said. “While you might need more nitrogen some years compared to others, the tool is supposed to promote precise nitrogen applications.”
Because of this, van Es said Adapt-N is likely better suited as an in-season tool as it is harder to get a precise read if growers apply all of their nitrogen fertilizer in the pre-planting stage, which likely leads to waste.
Since initially releasing Adapt-N in the Northeast and Iowa, the tool is now being utilized across much of the Corn Belt states, including top producing states Illinois and Indiana, as well as in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Members of the development team estimate Adapt-N helped farmers save about $200,000 through fertilizer reductions on around 7,500 acres in 2012.
Van Es hopes local fertilizer dealers and retailers will use the tool to make recommendations to farmers. Though dealers may possibly sell less fertilizer as a result, van Es said this is an opportunity for the industry to sell the knowledge.
While the program is currently freely available, van Es said a modest user fee will likely be applied next year.
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