I do rotate my corn with soybeans. According to ISU extension one bushel of
soybeans equates to one pound of nitrogen. ISU extension tells me I need
180 units of nitrogen per acre to optimize my yield. Last year I had 50
bushel per acre soybeans, I applied 130 units of nitrogen per acre before
planting and got 15 inches of rain in May and June. Extension told me if I
don't apply more nitrogen I will lose money this year because the 15 inches
of rain has washed my nitrogen away so I buy another 40 units of nitrogen.
I would love nothing more than to be able to grow prairie grass. I even
live near the ethanol plant in Emmetsburg which is running the cellulosic
project called Project Liberty. They have even offered to buy my stover,
but what they are willing to pay for the stover if I converted to prairie
grasses wouldn't even come close to what my rent is.
It is far from being a perfect system, but it is what we have to work with.
I could quit farming and move away but chances are the farmer that would
take my place would have less of a land ethic than me and the problem would
be worse.
While regulations could alleviate the problem to an extent, and I personally
wouldn't have a problem with universal regulations dictating nitrogen
application procedures, I don't see them happening in today's political
climate. I could just hear the cries that foreigners would have the
economic advantage. If I were a gambling man I would say that the best
chance of a solution is technology. That's what we as American's do best.
Whether it's GM corn that fixes nitrogen or some sort of encapsulation that
keeps the nitrogen where it is supposed to be, technology is probably our
best hope.
Steve Swan
_____
From: Iowa Discussion, Alerts and Announcements
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Pat Knueven
Sent: Wednesday, July 17, 2013 7:43 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: How much nitrate from fertilizer?
Wow. What an answer to a very serious problem. It sure sounds like more B S
to me. Just tell Bill to go purchase another $14,000,000 de-nitrogen remover
machine for us to pay for to have drinkable water.
Self regulation really works great.
-----Original Message-----
From: Steve and Connie Swan <[log in to unmask]>
To: IOWA-TOPICS <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wed, Jul 17, 2013 2:41 pm
Subject: Re: How much nitrate from fertilizer?
As a farmer perhaps I can add some insight into this issue. Corn is the
crop that generates the most income on my operation and while it is possible
for some operators to produce alternative crops like hay or vegetables, the
economies of production demand that corn be grown in Iowa. There are three
primary methods of applying nitrogen in Iowa. Anhydrous ammonia can be
applied in the fall and with the use of some "preservative" additives this
can be a pretty good method. Anhydrous ammonia can be spring applied before
planting as can either ammonium nitrate which is a white salt like solid or
a urea liquid solution which is a combination of ammonium nitrate and urea.
All three forms of nitrogen can also be applied after the crop is growing.
The application of these products before planting in the spring is probably
the most common method in Iowa. If the soil does not become over saturated
after application the majority of the nitrate stays put and is used by the
corn crop.
Perhaps the best management practice for nitrogen application is to apply
some before the corn is planted and the rest after the corn is growing. The
split application minimizes the chances of nitrates leaving the field but
this can be challenging as adverse weather can prevent later applications
not to mention the fact that additional applications cost money.
This spring we had extremely wet weather which has resulted in very high
nitrate levels in the rivers. As to answering Tom's question as to where
the nitrates are coming from I would suggest that if you could find a graph
of nitrate levels in the river water over time you would get a pretty good
idea of where it is coming from. Being that most of the fertilizer is in
place by late spring or early summer one would expect that the portion of
the contribution would fall off through the rest of the year. I did a
little searching and was unable to find any good charts documenting nitrate
levels on a short enough time scale to implicate agriculture although I am
sure that data of that time scale is available.
My gut instinct is that the majority of the problem we are seeing in Iowa
this year is due to corn production.
What can be done? Later applications of nitrogen would surely help but
these also add expense that the farmer has to incur in extra passes and
equipment. My personal fantasy would be some kind of encapsulated form of
nitrogen that could be applied before planting but would release on a time
schedule regardless of moisture conditions so that the crop could be fed as
needed. I have not heard of any such research happening but who knows? I
once asked an agronomist if he thought that a corn plant would ever be
created that could fix its own nitrogen but he replied that the energy
demands of nitrogen fixation would ensure that such a plant was not
competitive with more traditional types of corn.
Perhaps the simplest short term solution would be to have waterworks
increase their treatment capacity.
Corn production is not perfect by any means, but it does work well in Iowa
and it does contribute greatly to the state's economy. The ultimate answer
is probably a combination of all factors contributing a little to hopefully
get things to a manageable level.
Steve Swan
_____
From: Iowa Discussion, Alerts and Announcements
[mailto:[log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]> ] On Behalf Of Pam Mackey-Taylor
Sent: Wednesday, July 17, 2013 1:11 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: How much nitrate from fertilizer?
Is this a question that could be answered by someone at the Des Moines
Waterworks -- Linda Kinman or Bill Stowe?
pam
-----Original Message-----
From: Thomas Mathews, CIG <[log in to unmask]>
To: IOWA-TOPICS <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wed, Jul 17, 2013 1:05 pm
Subject: How much nitrate from fertilizer?
I haven't seen an answer yet to the question in my posting yesterday, so I
assume no one noticed it. So I'll ask again, and rephrase it:
How much of the nitrate that is being removed from the Des Moines water
supply originates from factory farms, and how much comes from farm field
runoff from ammonium nitrate and other nitrate fertilizer applications?
Is it, say, 5% from factory farms and 95% from fertilizer applications other
than hog manure? No, I'm not defending CAFOs. I just want to know.
Neila, maybe this is something you could research?
Thanks,
Tom
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