Adapt N

Adapt-N, a new software program, analyzes corn crop dynamics, soil types, weather data and more to calculate a course of action for nitrogen use.

As Nick Meier evaluates practices he can implement to coax more yield from each bag of seed corn he plants, he is taking a closer look at the role nitrogen (N) plays in the process. Specifically, the northeast Iowa farmer, based near La Porte City, is fine-tuning how much N he uses and when he uses it, thanks to help from an online tool called Adapt-N.

The program, developed by a team of scientists at Cornell University, led by Harold van Es, provides farmers with real-time, site-specific N analysis. The tool takes into consideration individual corn crop dynamics, soil types, field management practices, and a combination of historical and up-to-the-moment weather data, to calculate a course of action for N use.

"You can run the tool daily, weekly or monthly, and it will continually provide a report and predict how much nitrogen you saved, how much you lost and how much your crop needs at any given time," says Steve Sibulkin, chief executive officer for Agronomic Technology Corp, which has licensed the cloud-based program.

The company commercially launched Adapt-N in 28 states this spring, following three years of in-field testing, 2011 through 2013, on approximately 100,000 acres in 12 states.

"N is a pretty elusive nutrient to pin down, as far as application rates, and this program is eliminating a lot of the guesswork in our management," notes Shannon Gomes, Meier’s agronomist and owner of Cedar Basin Crop Consulting, Decorah, Iowa.

Are any of you using it?  The data I saw in Iowa looked like it was worth it.  Most corn is way over applied on nitrogen and this could help a person learn while they are ratcheting their rates down.

Ed