Ferrie: Nitrogen-Friendly Growing Season Results in Corn Yield Bonanza
As Ken Ferrie and his agronomic team conduct yield map meetings with Illinois customers this winter, they are seeing some excellent nutrient use efficiencies from the 2022 season, especially with nitrogen (N). In many cases, corn yield results were higher than farmers’ set goals and expectations.
“At side-dressing time, our growers were raising their yield goals because of strong corn stands, which was a result of corn coming out of the ground in four-and-a-half to five days,” recalls Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.
“In most cases, pushing yield goals higher was the right move," he adds. "Some growers who started with a 220-bu. yield goal, for instance, bumped it to 240, and we adjusted the N rate accordingly.”
At harvest last fall, Ferrie saw some fields reach up to 280 bu. per acre corn yield averages on a nitrogen program that had been set for 240-bushel corn -- a 40-bu. boost.
Does that mean the crop required less nitrogen to grow a bushel of corn last season? The short answer is no.
“It took the same amount of nitrogen to grow a bushel of corn last year as it does in any other year. It took less applied N to grow a bushel corn last year, because we got more help from the soil. That came in two ways – through less loss of N and better mineralization,” he explains.
2022 Was A Friendly Nitrogen Year
Ferrie and team have looked at hundreds of nitrate tests from across the Midwest this winter. He says they "could account for all of the nitrogen that was applied and in some cases more, meaning that we had very little loss of applied N.
"This was in the aftermath of a flash drought that we went through in June, when the tile lines quit flowing and the drainage ditches dried up," he says. "Here locally (outside Bloomington, Ill.) they didn't start flowing again until the rain this week.”
A couple of things occur if moisture shuts off. One, when tile lines quit flowing leaching stops. Second, when low ground doesn't get saturated volatility stops.
“Many of the areas that tend to get drowned out yielded exceptionally well this past year because of no stand loss and no nitrogen loss,” Ferrie says.
That was true in central Illinois and in some other corn growing areas in the upper Missouri River Basin watershed, which encompasses about one-fourth of all the agricultural land in the U.S. .
“June through October was the eleventh-driest five-month stretch in 128 years in the upper Missouri-Mississippi River Basin,” Ferrie says. “This led to record-low river levels and has caused all those problems for the barges, (resulting in) the dredging that they're doing to keep traffic moving on…the Mississippi.”
Dead Zone In Gulf Of Mexico Shrinks
Ferrie says another way to evaluate N loss, besides pulling nitrates, is to monitor the size of the “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico, which was smaller this past year.
Scientists measured the 2022 dead zone at approximately 3,275 square miles during an annual survey in late July, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). That’s down from 6,334 square miles measured in 2021. It’s also much smaller than the all-time high of 8,776 square miles, recorded in 2017.
“When we shut down the tile lines and the drainage ditches and don't have any runoff events, we reduce nutrient loss,” Ferrie says. “Another way to look at this is the American farmer may be only responsible for one-fifth of the dead zone in the Gulf. When you guys shut off the water flowing off your acres from June until January and the dead zone shrinks by a fifth, it would indicate someone else is responsible for the other four-fifths.
“When your tile lines quit flowing, the municipal sewage plants didn't quit flowing. People in Chicago didn't stop flushing their toilets,” he adds. “So, I'm just saying, maybe it's time to re-evaluate what share of the nutrient loss problem is associated with agriculture. I'm just thinking out loud, and I probably shouldn't do that.”
While the dry June shut down N loss, some cooler temperatures and timely, small showers throughout July and early August were ideal for microbes and mineralized nitrogen out of soils. “So, we kind of had that perfect lineup of too dry to lose the N but moist enough and moderate enough soil temperatures to mineralize large amounts of N,” he says.
What are the odds those weather patterns will happen again? “Well, it's only happened 11 times in 128 years, so I'm guessing the odds are not too good,” Ferrie says. “I think we start this year with a good 4R nitrogen program, and we adjust it as Mother Nature throws curveballs at us.”
Finalize Spring Plans, Share Them With Your Team
Looking ahead, Ferrie encourages farmers to finalize their cropping plans soon as spring is quickly approaching.
“When you have them finalized, take your 2023 crop plan and have some team meetings and make sure everyone in the farm operation understands it. And I do mean everyone – from your input suppliers to your seed dealers and, most of all, your farm crew," he says.
“Many times when we run into a snafu in an operation – like spraying the wrong herbicide on a non-GMO field – it's because someone in the operation didn't get the memo. That plan that's in your head is only visible to you. Unless your crew is good at mind reading, it needs to be put in writing and shared with everyone. In the heat of the battle too many things drop through the cracks," he adds.
"Team members don't have to memorize the plan if it's written down and they know where it’s located. When in doubt they can pull out the plan and double-check.”
Listen to this week's Boots In The Field podcast here:
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How to Tackle Tar Spot In 2023
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