Nutrient Management

Balancing Nutrient Inputs and Plant Needs

Nutrient management planning has been a common practice for decades, as it helps the farming operation maximize profits by balancing crop yields and nutrient inputs.  Nutrient management has four basic components: nutrient source (Nitrogen and Phosphorus), nutrient rate, nutrient placement and nutrient timing. Under a Nutrient Management Plan, each of these four components is managed at the field or sub-field scale in a manner that supports crop productivity and achieves high nutrient use efficiency by the crop and minimizes nutrient loss.

In general, some good management activities that fall under Nutrient Management include things like soil and manure analysis, applying nutrients at rates consistent with the crop needs, spreader/application equipment calibration, and record keeping. Some examples of records kept include: estimated/actual crop yield, crop type, manure application history, fertilizer applications history, etc.

USC Youtube Video Highlight

Our Watershed Wednesdays video about efforts made by USC member Cortland SWCD to increase nutrient management on local farms: