Demonstration Driven 4R Field Day

Posted on September 28, 2022September 28, 2022 by Jenell Eck | Posted in Uncategorized

Queenstown, Maryland (September 28, 2022) – On August 31st, the Delaware Maryland 4R Alliance partnered with the University of Maryland Agronomy Program for their annual Field Day at the Wye Research and Education Center. Over 140 participated to explore more about 4R practices – applying nutrients from the right source, at the right rate and time, and in the right place.

Demonstrations included the Environmental Tillage System’s Soil Warrior strip-till machine and a Hoobers strip -till machine. Strip-tillage focuses only on the rows where crops will be planted to support the application of variable rate fertilizer, both dry and liquid, in the soil just below where the seed will be placed.

Mr. Craig Yohn with the University of Maryland Extension explained the benefits of the 4R approach to applying manure. He demonstrated how to calibrate a dry poultry litter spreader and explained the value of poultry litter as a viable plant food.

Mike Twining with Willard’s Agri-Service showcased precision placement of nutrients with a liquid sprayer demonstrating multiple nozzles to match the crop needs.

Dr. Trenton Roberts, Associate Professor of Soil Fertility at the University of Arkansas provided a lunchtime talk on his research with Pivot Bio. Dr. Roberts has performed multi-year performance trials with Pivot Bio’s strains of microbes. His results demonstrated that the product can provide nitrogen to corn under certain conditions, and it is generally difficult to predict which conditions in any given year will be ideal for the use of the product.

Lunch was catered by Sisters By Chance in Galena, with delicious chicken, provided by Mountaire Farms. Then attendees enjoyed a wagon tour of UMD agronomic research at the Wye Research and Education Center. Stops covered the performance of crop variety trials presented by Dr. Nicole Fiorellino, the use of fungicides in soybeans with Andy Kness, novel research in deer damage in soybeans presented by Dr. Luke Macaulay, cover crop impact on weed control with Dr. Kurt Vollmer, and current entomology research being performed by Dr. Kelly Hamby.

*Photos were taken by Matthew Kane with The Nature Conservancy.

Thank you to our 2022 event sponsors!

• AgroTech USA
• Chorman Spraying
• Corteva Agriservice
• Crow Insurance Agency
• Fulton Bank
• Harry Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology
• Horizon Farm Credit
• King Crop Insurance
• MARBIDCO
• Mountaire Farms
• Nagel Crop Insurance
• Northeast SARE
• Pivot Bio
• Revere Seed
• Timac
• UniSouth Genetics, Inc.
• Willard Agri-Service

4R Farming, Biologicals, and More!

Posted on August 22, 2022August 21, 2022 by Jenell Eck | Posted in Uncategorized

Queenstown, Maryland (August 22, 2022) – The Delaware Maryland 4R (DEMD4R) Alliance is preparing for its annual 4R Field Day being held on August 31st at the Wye Research and Education Center. This year, DEMD4R is working with the University of Maryland Agronomy Program to offer more to the annual event.

We hope to see you at 8:00 AM to network with event sponsors and other farmers. At 9:00 AM attendees will rotate through three 45-minute stations covering the 4R’s of Manure Management, Splitting Nitrogen, and Strip-Tillage. Then everyone will come together at 11:45 AM to hear from our Keynote, Dr. Trenton Roberts with the University of Arkansas. Dr. Roberts will be showcasing his findings on pivot bio biologicals. After a delicious lunch, catered by Sisters by Chance, enjoy an agronomy tour of the Wye. Through a guided tour, enjoy five 15-minute stations showcasing ongoing crop production research here in Maryland.

We are thankful for our event sponsors for helping make our annual field day possible and free! Please reserve a seat online at 4rmidatlantic.com/upcoming-events/. See you on the 31st!

Continuing Education Credits being offered during the morning section:

• Maryland Nutrient Management – 4 Credits
• Delaware Nutrient Management – 3.5 Credits
• Pennsylvania Nutrient Management – 1.5 Credits
• CCA Credits – 2.5 Nutrient Management, 1 Crop Management

2022 Delaware Maryland 4R and Agronomy Day, Register Now

Posted on July 20, 2022July 20, 2022 by Jenell Eck | Posted in Uncategorized

The Annual 4R and Agronomy Field Day is quickly approaching. This year, the Delaware Maryland 4R Alliance and the University of Maryland Agronomy Program are co-hosting the event to offer an educational and networking-friendly event for you!

Join us at the Wye Research and Education Center in Queenstown on August 31 starting at 8:00 AM. The morning program includes three stations focused on different technologies to apply 4R’s of nutrient management – applying nutrients with the right source, at the right time, in the right place, and right rate followed by a conversation with Dr. Trenton Roberts with the University of Arkansas on his research on the use of biologicals in nutrient management. Following lunch, the University of Maryland Agronomy Program will present a field tour of current agronomic research at the center.

Attendance is free including lunch but registration is required to save your seat. You can register online below. Continuing education credits for Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania nutrient management, as well as CCA, will be available for the event.

If you would be interested in sponsoring our event this year, please contact Jenell McHenry at jenell.mdag@gmail.com or by calling the office at 443-262-8491.

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

Posted on March 22, 2022March 22, 2022 by Jenell Eck | Posted in Uncategorized

Credit: Delmarva Farmer | Original press release 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.