Nitrogen loss: How does it happen?

For the period April 1 through May 6, 2007, much of Iowa received more than 5 inches of rainfall (May 6, 2007 AWIS Inc. report). The Northwest, North-Central, and East-Central districts averaged slightly less than 5 inches, and the West-Central and Southwest districts more than 9 inches. With the large rainfall and flooding conditions, many producers are wondering about nitrogen (N) losses. While this period certainly has an influence on N in the soil, excessively wet conditions later in the spring are especially important for N losses. Early to mid-June will be a critical period to assess crop growth and needed N applications

Yellow Corn, Wet Soils, and N Loss – Part 4

Last summer I provided observations in three ICM News articles (June 19, June 26, and July 8, 2008) on corn growth and response to nitrogen (N) applied in an anhydrous ammonia study conducted at the Iowa State University research farm between Ames and Boone. This series of articles was written in response to the record wet conditions encountered in 2008. Following is a summary of the grain yield response to N timing and rate

Nonconventional Soil Additives and Programs

Every year products and programs are touted to Iowa producers as being the cure for crop production and economic woes. These seem to increase in number when crop prices are low or input costs are high. The old adage states “if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.” How do you know