Nutrient Management Planning
can involve the evaluation or
consideration of many things
such as: soil, plant and manure
analysis; spreader calibration;
timing of a nutrient application;
custom blended fertilizers; crop
yields and nutrient removal
calculations; soil texture and
other soil physical properties;
soil acidity; soil and plant
interactions; micronutrients;
liming material used; organic
matter; nutrient allowances
for crop residues and legumes,
and much more. Giving your
operation an intensive evaluation
and increasing your management
inputs could very well increase
your profit, improve your
environmental stewardship, and
give you a better footing if you
are ever the recipient of unwanted
scrutiny.
can remove or that the soil can
retain. And yields can be greater
when crops get proper amounts
and proportions of nutrients.
On the environmental side, a
nutrient management plan will
help you get the most out of your
fertilizer by helping you keep it
in the field and out of streams.
Not only can nutrient losses to
streams ultimately be harmful to
aquatic life, it is the equivalent
of throwing your money down
the creek. Most West Virginia
farmers simply cannot afford to
do that.
In the early 1990s I worked
with farmers in Preston County
doing soil nitrogen testing in corn
fields. We pulled soil samples
and made nitrogen fertilizer
application recommendations
based on how much nitrogen was
already in the soil as compared
There are obviously many
to realistic yield goals. In
specific topics that can be
many cases we recommended
covered in greater depth under the no additional nitrogen fertilizer
heading of nutrient management
application because a combination
planning, and more articles will
of manure, crop residue and other
be written in months to come
nutrient sources were already
that will probe some of these
providing an adequate level of
areas. But the purpose of this
plant available nitrogen. It was
article is simply to advocate for
understandably difficult for many
environmentally friendly and
farmers who were accustomed to
profitable farming practices and to side dressing with an additional
express the importance of nutrient amount of nitrogen to accept the
management planning.
recommendations. Subsequent
crop yields told the story and built
Nutrient management
trust in soil sampling for fertilizer
planning is indeed important
recommendations. It was very
both economically and
rewarding to help farmers save
environmentally. On the
money, produce good yields and
economic side, we only
prevent nitrogen loss into the
apply what the soil and crops
environment.
need. Savings can be seen by
potentially spending less than
The WV Department of
you would by applying rates
Agriculture maintains a
of fertilizers higher than crops
certification program for WV
Certified Nutrient Management
Planners and the American
Society of Agronomy certifies
professional Certified Crop
Advisers who can provide
expertise in reviewing your
current fertilizer program and
assist you in developing a NMP
as you desire. Many of these
certified professionals work for
the WVCA, USDA-NRCS, the
WV Department of Agriculture
and private industry. These
professionals would be your
sources for seeking assistance
with nutrient management
planning. Their job is to assist
you in developing your NMP.
If there is a particular Nutrient
Management or Agronomy related
topic you would like to see
covered in the format of an article
in the Farm Bureau News, please
send an e-mail to erict@wvfarm.
org.
Here’s wishing you fruitfulness
in the coming growing season.
Thanks to Jeff Skousen, Ph.D., Professor
of Soil Science, WVU; and Joe Hatton.
Eric Thomason joined West Virginia
Farm Bureau in 2009
and works as the
Field Representative
for the southern half
of West Virginia.
Thomason
graduated from West
Virginia University in
1992 with a degree
in Agronomy. While
there he served on
the WVU Soil Judging Team, and spent his
summer months working for USDA-SCS and
the Monongahela Soil Conservation District.
Thomason recently passed the West
Virginia Department of Agriculture Nutrient
Management Certification exam.
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