Author: Jenell Eck

First Year of Split-Nitrogen Project Shows Positive Results in Mid-Atlantic

Credit: Delmarva Farmer | Original press releaseĀ here.

Preliminary results of a split-nitrogen cost-share project show positive signs for agronomics and water quality, a project organizer said during the annual meeting of the Mid-Atlantic 4R Nutrient Stewardship Association.

In the first year of the three-year project, funded through a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund, farmers in Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania could access cost-share of $15 per acre by adding an additional split in their overall nitrogen application on their 2021 corn crop.

“We’re not talking about increasing nitrogen rates. We’re talking about using the same nitrogen rate and just dividing it over multiple applications,” said Eric Rosenbaum, a crop consultant and executive director of Pennsylvania 4R Alliance, who gave an update on the project.

Participants agreed to provide a comparison check strip where all the crop’s nitrogen is applied at or before planting and share production and yield data. In the three states, 16 farms participated last year enrolling 3,595 acres in the program.

Nitrogen applications could come from manure or commercial fertilizer and timing of the splits could be made at different stages in the season. Application methods included early, traditional, and late-season sidedress, fertigation, strip-till pre-plant, at planting, and pre-emergence. “We’re not limiting participants to this list. If people come to use with a different type of application we’re open to it we just need to make sure it meets the certain criteria of the project” said Rosenbaum.

Rosenbaum separated the participated farms into two groups: Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Five Maryland farms participated and had an average yield increase of 19.2 bushels per acre where they applied nitrogen in splits versus all of it up front. “That’s a pretty astounding number,” Rosenbaum said. Nitrogen use efficiency on average increased five percent on the Maryland farms.

On the 11 participating Pennsylvania farms, farmers saw an average yield increase of 17.6 bushels per acre and 12 percent better nitrogen use efficiency.

Highlighting one Pennsylvania farm, Rosenbaum said the farm saw a 16 percent increase in nitrogen use efficiency with split application, and its yield increase translated into an 18 percent increase in revenue.

Rosenbaum also said it is important to look at what effect splitting nitrogen had on phosphorus in the fields. The Pennsylvania farms saw an increased phosphorus removal rate of an average of 8.8 pounds per acre. Split applications across the whole program in the first year led to 28,200 pounds of phosphorus removal, Rosenbaum said. “There is a ripple effect as to how one practice can have a benefit in something else, he said.

He said while farmers may be attracted to split nitrogen applications for their agronomic benefit, the improvements in water quality should also be promoted. “We should be shouting this from the rooftops,” he said. “We want to be advocating for more agronomic BMPs on the landscape because these are the benefits of them. We’re going to see better use efficiency from our nitrogen and phosphorus and less loss in the environment.”

As the program enters its second year, Rosenbaum said success with split applying nitrogen can depend on several variables including the soil’s nitrogen retention capability, weather, accuracy in calculating the rate according to a farm’s realistic yield goal, and applying the product in the field, using adaptive management tools in-season and following the 4R’s of nutrient management.

Identifying and addressing “active loss pathways” in the fields where nutrients can escape through volatilization, leaching, immobilization, surface runoff, or other route is also helpful in being more efficient with fertilizer, Rosenbaum added. “We want to make sure whatever loss pathway is most active in that field that we’re addressing it,” he said.

Farmers interested in participating in the cost share program in 2022 should contact Jenell Eck McHenry at jenell.mdg@gmail.com or 443-262-6969 for Maryland and Delaware and Rosenbaum at ericrosenbaum@rosetreeconsulting.com or 484-788-7263 for Pennsylvania.

Funding Available in Maryland

This funding is available through the USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) project Sustainable Chesapeake secured in partnership with the Maryland Department of Agriculture and the Delaware-Maryland 4R Alliance. EQIP-eligible farmers on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and in Harford County will be able to secure funding for precision nutrient management and soil health conservation practices.

Interested individuals should call or visit their local soil conservation district to confirm eligibility and complete an application by April 1, 2022. Harford County farmers can learn more online here.

Mid-Atlantic 4R Farmer Survey

Queenstown, Maryland (December 8, 2021) – The Mid-Atlantic 4R Nutrient Stewardship Association is discovering barriers to 4R (right Source, Rate, Time, and Place) practice adoption. In the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, 2,700 randomly selected farmers will receive a mailed survey from the University of Delaware. The overall goal of this survey is to inform outreach efforts and communication strategies about the 4Rs to better serve farmers like you. By understanding the barriers you face in making nutrient management decisions, the survey will also inform voluntary state and federal agricultural cost-share programs. We ask that if you receive this voluntary survey, that you complete and return the survey.

The survey consists of questions about your farm and your experience with nutrient management and has an estimated completion time of 20 minutes. Responses are completely confidential! Those who complete the survey by January 15th will be eligible to enter a drawing for a $250 Visa gift card (10 available), a $100 Visa gift card (20 available), or a $50 Visa gift card (99 available).

The study is being conducted by the University of Delaware and the Mid-Atlantic 4R Nutrient Stewardship Association (the parent organization for the Pennsylvania 4R Alliance and the Delaware-Maryland 4R Alliance).

For more information about the survey, feel free to contact the project manager, Dr. Kelly Davidson at 302-831-8034.

PA4R Nutrient Stewardship Alliance to Offer “4waRd Thinking” Training to Farm Advisers

Shillington, Pennsylvania (October 14, 2021) – The Pennsylvania 4R Nutrient Stewardship Alliance (PA4R) has received funding through a 2021 Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) Professional Development grant to provide education to Pennsylvania’s farm advisers about 4R Nutrient Stewardship practices. This funding includes the development of six webinars on 4R topics as well as the creation of “4waRd Thinking” cohort designed to help 30 farm advisers gain in-depth, in-field education and exposure to 4R practices.

The first set of webinars are open to farm advisers in both the public and private sector and will be held on three consecutive Tuesday afternoons – October 26, November 2, and November 9, 2021. The topics to be covered include:

CCA (Soil and Water or Nutrient Management, depending on the topics) and Act 38 Nutrient Management Credits will be available for all sessions.

The second set of webinars will be held in the fall of 2022. Dates, times, and topics to be announced at a later date.

In addition to the planned webinars, PA4R is excited to roll out its “4waRd Thinking” learning cohort of farm advisers working in Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay watershed. This deep-dive learning opportunity will kick off in February 2022 and is open to any adviser working in the Bay watershed who connects with farmers on decisions related to the Right Rate, Source, Time, & Place (4Rs) of nutrient applications. Thirty participants will be selected from the applicant pool to attend specialized in-person workshops, receive personalized coaching, and participate in virtual learning opportunities focused on applying 4R practices at the operational level and facilitating conversations around adoption with the farmers they serve. Throughout the 18-month cohort learning experience, each participant must commit to working with ten of their farmer clients to advocate for the implementation of RIGHT Nutrient Stewardship practices.

Registration for the 2021 webinars and applications for cohort participation can both be found at 4RMidAtlantic.com/events.

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The Pennsylvania 4R Alliance is a non-profit organization committed to working collectively with farmers and farm advisers to deliver science-based systems that improve crop productivity through increased nutrient use efficiency and reduce losses of nutrients to the environment.