Kerry Knuth steers his sprayer across a field, occasionally craning his neck to watch his newest piece of equipment shoot fertilizer at the base of his growing corn.
He purchased this equipment, called a 360 Y-Drop, and attached it to the boom of his sprayer so the corn can absorb nitrogen fertilizer more efficiently - more nitrogen directly to the corn's roots, less lost to the surrounding environment.
The Y-Drop can save him money on fertilizer costs. And, by using less nitrogen fertilizer, he also may be reducing the risk that nitrate enters the groundwater, which supplies drinking water to 85% of Nebraskans. Nitrate, research shows, is linked to a variety of diseases, including pediatric cancer and birth defects.
"We don't relish the fact of polluting groundwater, whether it's nitrates or chemicals," said Angela Knuth, who farms with husband Kerry on family land near Mead.
The state's nitrate-in-groundwater problem is growing worse - Nebraska's median nitrate level doubled between 1978 and 2019.
But some Nebraska farmers and researchers are fighting back with technology. They are embracing new methods that can reduce nitrate leaching into groundwater, improve their soil's health and also, they say, boost the bottom line.
Some farmers interviewed by the Flatwater Free Press have completely switched over to "regenerative agriculture", a farming approach focusing on restoration of the environment, which advocates say also ultimately boosts farm productivity.
Others are marrying traditional farming with precision technologies like soil testing and remote sensing, or using more efficient equipment like the Knuths do.
Kerry Knuth can now put on fertilizer at ideal times, instead of having to time fertilizer application with center-pivot irrigation when the crops need water. Nitrate leaching is often worsened by heavy irrigation, which washes the chemicals down into the soil and ultimately into our water supply, experts say.
The Knuths say they came to new farming technologies because they thought it was the right thing to do - and because it's what they want to teach their children. More than two decades ago, they used anhydrous ammonia, a cheaper but also more volatile form of nitrogen fertilizer that's more easily lost to groundwater. Kerry Knuth then switched to a liquid fertilizer.
In 2018, he bought the Y-Drop system and started split applying - supplying nitrogen to corn in multiple applications throughout the growing season rather than one full application. Since then, the family uses 15% less nitrogen fertilizer.
As the Knuths' equipment evolved, the science that helps farmers like them make decisions was also evolving.
A formula developed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln agronomists has helped producers determine how much fertilizer they should use for decades. It now suggests that farmers use an average of about 1 pound of nitrogen per bushel of corn.
Interestingly, new UNL research and field trials show that using way less nitrogen than the current UNL recommendation - as much as 40 fewer pounds per acre - doesn't significantly detract from profits, said UNL agronomy professor Javed Iqbal.
The question he's trying to answer: How can we calculate nitrogen usage based on profit, and also environmental cost?
Even though the trial fields produced less corn yield with reduced fertilizer input, the yield still hit the maximum economic profitability range, with savings from fertilizer costs, Iqbal said.
Source: norfolkdailynews.com
Photo Credit: istock-urpspoteko
Categories: Nebraska, Crops, Corn, General