A plan to maximize crop production and save money
/by Lisa Ashworth
Before we know it, spring will be here and that means getting out on the fields to prepare them for the upcoming growing season. Now is the perfect time to prepare or update your nutrient management plan. A strong plan ensures application of the right supply of nutrients needed to give you not only the best crop production, but to also save you money and minimize the environmental impact to soil, water, and air quality because you will typically use fewer inputs.
A nutrient management plan helps determine exactly what actions you need to take to balance the nutrients already in your soil. This can help prevent leaching of excess nutrients the plants don’t use from getting into surface water and groundwater.
Fertilizer Canada’s 4R Nutrient Stewardship Program – which promotes the right source at the right rate, right time, and right place – is a great place to start with preparing or updating your nutrient management plan.
RIGHT SOURCE
Selecting the right source of nutrient – be it manure, granular fertilizer, or liquid fertilizer – will ensure a balanced supply of essential plant nutrients.
RIGHT RATE
To determine the rate of application, consider where all nutrients are coming from, including what’s already in the soil, what’s in the manure and/or fertilizers you’re applying, and even the atmospheric nitrogen fixed by previous crops such as legumes.
Performing an annual soil test can help determine at what rate you need to apply nutrients to meet your crop requirements while accounting for the nutrients already in the soil. And be sure to use the proper application equipment calibrated to deliver your target rates.
RIGHT TIME
It’s important to apply any nutrients at the right time so the nutrients are available when the plant needs them. This not only means applying nutrients at the right stage of plant growth but also at the right time of day and during the right weather conditions.
RIGHT PLACE
Make sure you apply nutrients where they’re needed. This includes knowing the recommended setback distances for nutrient application near waterways and water supplies such as wells.
Keep in mind that the best management practices you select for your nutrient management plan will vary depending on the location, soil, and climate conditions of the field, what crop you’re planting, your management conditions, and other site-specific factors. It’s very possible that you’ll have more than one nutrient management plan for your farm.
While you can develop your own nutrient management plan for your farm using basic soil fertility principles and good record keeping, you may want to consider having a professional agrologist complete and certify your plan. The New Brunswick Soil and Crop Improvement Association also helps its members prepare nutrient management plans.
Additional resources are available online. You can visit the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada website at www.agr.gc.ca and the New Brunswick government website at www2.gnb.ca and search “nutrient management planning” on both sites. You can visit the Fertilizer Canada website at fertilizercanada.ca and select the “Stewardship” link. And you can visit tinyurl.com/bop2ladt to read New Brunswick’s nutrient stewardship management plan.
You can also search “nutrient management” on Twitter to see what other farmers and farm organizations are doing to tackle this matter. Several listings for upcoming nutrient management webinars around the world will also come up, as well as some discussion about how to best tackle the creation of a plan.
(Lisa Ashworth is president of the Agricultural Alliance of New Brunswick.)
