UMN Extension Nutrient Management Podcast

It’s that time of year again; time for the Fall Fertilizer Outlook on the Nutrient Management Podcast. Given the overall economics of crop production right now, how should farmers be approaching their fertilizer decisions this fall? What are some regional differences with respect to fertilizer management this year? There has been a renewed focus on the issue of water quality in Minnesota - how should this affect farmers’ decision-making? How many fertilizer decisions can be pushed off until spring? All of this and more on today’s show.

Guests:

• Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato)
• Lindsay Pease, Extension nutrient and water management specialist (Crookston)
• Jeff Vetsch, Research supervisor (Waseca)
• Daniel Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)

Additional Resources:

• Are you overspending on fertilizer?
• Making sense of Minnesota's corn fertilizer guidelines: Frequently asked questions, and answers
• No P, no problem? Skipping phosphorus fertilizer application may make agronomic, economic sense
• Smart Nitrogen Management webinar (YouTube)

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Click here to listen to all Nutrient Management Podcast episodes.

For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X (formerly twitter), and visit our website.

If you have questions or comments, please email us at [email protected].

Support for the Nutrient Management Podcast is provided by Minnesota's fertilizer tonnage fee through the Agricultural Fertilizer Research & Education Council (AFREC). Learn more at MNsoilfertility.com.

On today's Advancing Nitrogen Smart Podcast, Brad Carlson and Melissa Wilson explain aspects of Minnesota laws and regulations that manure applicators should be aware of. What are the requirements for manure testing, and how often should you do it? What are some general restrictions for manure application in Minnesota? How do buffers and setbacks help you? What kinds of documents should be incorporated into a manure management plan? What contingencies should be put into place in the case of an emergency? All this and more on today's show.

Guests:

• Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato)
• Melissa Wilson, Extension manure nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)

Additional resources:

• Land Application of manure: Minimum requirements
• Manure management
• Manure sampling and nutrient analysis
• Manure sampling and testing: Variability, guidelines & safety for your operation
• ManureDB

For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X (formerly twitter), and visit our website.

If you have questions or comments, please email us at [email protected].

Advancing Nitrogen Smart is proud to be supported by the farm families of Minnesota and their corn check-off investment through Minnesota Corn.

Nitrogen loss is the topic today on the Advancing Nitrogen Smart podcast. Soil conditions and chemistry are factors that make nitrogen prone to loss, but how does the N loss process actually happen? What's left over in the field after that process occurs, and where does the lost nitrogen go? What do denitrification, leaching and volatilization mean? How can the 4 Rs (right rate, right source, right placement, right timing) help growers minimize risk? How do nitrification inhibitors, microbes, and soil types fit in to the picture? All that and more in today's conversation.

Guests:

• Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato)
• Dan Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)

Additional resources:

• Wait, consider your options before applying nitrogen this fall
• Video: What to know about nitrogen inhibitors and other enhanced efficiency fertilizers
• Field Notes talks about what to expect after heavy June rains
• Video: Fall vs. spring urea in Minnesota
• Nitrogen Smart

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For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X (formerly twitter), and visit our website.

If you have questions or comments, please email us at [email protected].

Advancing Nitrogen Smart is proud to be supported by the farm families of Minnesota and their corn check-off investment through Minnesota Corn.

On this episode of Advancing Nitrogen Smart, Brad and Dan take some of the mystery out of variable rate N. What are we trying to accomplish when we use a variable rate management practice? What kinds of field conditions might benefit from VRN, and which conditions should be avoided with VRN? How might the other 3 R's (Timing, Source & Placement) play a part in rate decision making? All that and more on today's show. 

Guests:

• Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato)
• Dan Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)

Additional resources:

• Is variable rate nitrogen based on yield maps a good idea?
• Variable rate nitrogen: What farmers should know
• Making sense of Minnesota’s corn fertilizer guidelines: Frequently asked questions and answers
• Fertilizing corn in Minnesota
• Nitrogen Smart

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For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X (formerly twitter), and visit our website.

If you have questions or comments, please email us at [email protected].

Advancing Nitrogen Smart is proud to be supported by the farm families of Minnesota and their corn check-off investment through Minnesota Corn.

Today on the Nutrient Management Podcast we discuss nutrient management for irrigated crops in Minnesota. How many irrigated acres are there in Minnesota? What are some of the benefits and risks of irrigation? In what ways can risks be mitigated - through timing, cover crop adoption and / or other general soil health practices? What should growers know about the latest irrigation research in Minnesota? If a farmer is considering adopting irrigation practices, what should they focus on first? This and much, much more on today's episode.

Guests:

• Daniel Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)
• Carl Rosen, Extension irrigation specialist, Dept. of Soil, Water, and Climate (St. Paul)
• Vasu Sharma, Extension irrigation specialist, Dept. of Soil, Water, and Climate (St. Paul)

Additional Resources:

• Irrigation
• Research shows precision irrigation technology can improve irrigation water productivity in corn
• Could adding irrigation to Minnesota corn fields help reduce nitrate losses to groundwater?
• How do wet and dry years affect corn yield and nitrate leaching under different irrigation and nitrogen management strategies?
• Effect of variable rate irrigation and nitrogen fertilizer rates on crop productivity and water quality

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For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X (formerly twitter), and visit our website.

If you have questions or comments, please email us at [email protected].

Support for the Nutrient Management Podcast is provided by Minnesota's fertilizer tonnage fee through the Agricultural Fertilizer Research & Education Council (AFREC). Learn more at MNsoilfertility.com.

This month's episode of the Nutrient Management Podcast is all about sulfur. Fertilizer guidelines go through changes periodically, but are there any upcoming changes to the sulfur fertilizer guidelines specifically? What does current research tell us about managing sulfur for Minnesota crops? Were there any surprising results? Should growers proactively add sulfur to crops out of caution, or is that practice unnecessary? What are some final takeaways that our panelists want Minnesota farmers to know about?

Guests:

• Jeff Coulter, Extension corn agronomist (St. Paul)
• Jeff Vetsch, U of M researcher (Waseca)
• Seth Naeve, Extension soybean agronomist (St. Paul)
• Daniel Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)

Additional Resources:

• Sulfur for Minnesota soils
• Is it worth applying sulfur to your soybean crop?
• Sulfur fertilizer application: Does S carry over from one year to the next?
• Video: What source of sulfur is right for you?
• Fertilizing Corn in Minnesota

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Click here to listen to all Nutrient Management Podcast episodes.

For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X (formerly twitter), and visit our website.

If you have questions or comments, please email us at [email protected].

Support for the Nutrient Management Podcast is provided by Minnesota's fertilizer tonnage fee through the Agricultural Fertilizer Research & Education Council (AFREC). Learn more at MNsoilfertility.com.

This week on Advancing Nitrogen Smart Melissa Wilson and Brad Carlson talk about manure sampling and testing. What are some sampling guidelines to be aware of in Minnesota? How variable is nitrogen in one type of manure, and then from type to type? How could changes to a farmer's overall operation affect manure nutrient content? How should manure samples be stored? Safety is huge - what do farmers need to know about staying safe when working with manure? Oh, and how do you prevent sample jars from exploding in the mail? This, and lots of manure info on today's show. 

Guests:

• Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato)
• Melissa Wilson, Extension manure nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)

Additional resources:

• 2025 Certified Manure Testing Laboratories
• Nitrogen availability of different manure types: What we know and what we are researching
• Introducing ManureDB: A new way to view manure variability and trends
• Manure management
• Manure Land Application: Minimum Requirements

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Click here to listen to all Advancing Nitrogen Smart podcast episodes.

For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X (formerly twitter), and visit our website.

If you have questions or comments, please email us at [email protected].

Advancing Nitrogen Smart is proud to be supported by the farm families of Minnesota and their corn check-off investment through Minnesota Corn.

Today on the Advancing Nitrogen Smart podcast series, Brad and Dan tell us how the Maximum Return to Nitrogen (MRTN) approach to N rate recommendations is calculated. What does the MRTN actually measure for farmers? What's the reason the MRTN recommendations were created? What kind of / how many rate trials are used to build the dataset? Does the MRTN rate recommendation approach work well in all Minnesota regions? Brad and Dan cover this and more on today's show.

Guests:

• Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato)
• Dan Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)

Additional resources:

• Corn Rate Calculator
• What to know about the Maximum Return to Nitrogen (MRTN) approach to corn N rate guidelines
• The history of N rate recommendations in Minnesota: What farmers should know
• Nitrogen Smart

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Click here to listen to all Advancing Nitrogen Smart podcast episodes.

For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X (formerly twitter), and visit our website.

If you have questions or comments, please email us at [email protected].

Advancing Nitrogen Smart is proud to be supported by the farm families of Minnesota and their corn check-off investment through Minnesota Corn.

Today on the Nutrient Management Podcast we discuss on-farm research. On-farm research has been here for decades - so what's new about it? What are management practices that might be easier to evaluate and which might be more difficult? What are the design criteria that farmers need to have in place in order to be successful? What kinds of problems have the panelists encountered while conducting on-farm research, and how might those problems have been avoided? How can farmers participate in University of Minnesota on-farm research projects, and how might it benefit them? All of this and lots more on today's show.

Guests:

• Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato)
• Daniel Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)
• Fabian Fernandez, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)
• Matt Pfarr, Extension educator (Mankato)

Additional Resources:

• On-farm research
• How to do research on your farm
• On-farm research (YouTube)
• Nutrient Management

Click here to listen to all Nutrient Management Podcast episodes.

For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X (formerly twitter), and visit our website.

If you have questions or comments, please email us at [email protected].

Support for the Nutrient Management Podcast is provided by Minnesota's fertilizer tonnage fee through the Agricultural Fertilizer Research & Education Council (AFREC). Learn more at MNsoilfertility.com.

On this episode of Advancing Nitrogen Smart we discuss methods and tools to account for soil and weather conditions as you execute your nitrogen management strategy. Which tissue and nitrate testing options are the most beneficial, and when should you test? How does understanding the nitrogen cycle help you interpret these results? How do drought and /or saturated conditions affect available nitrogen? What can be reasonably achieved with rescue treatments? Why is it important to end your season with the right amount of residual nitrogen in the field? Brad and Dan discuss this - and much more - on today's show.

Guests:

• Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato)
• Dan Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)

Additional resources:

• Corn supplemental N rate calculator
• Soil Testing Laboratory: Farm / Field and Commercial Horticulture Crops
• Research Analytical Laboratory - tissue testing
• The nitrogen cycle - YouTube video
• Why understanding the nitrogen cycle is key to managing soil fertility

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Click here to listen to all Advancing Nitrogen Smart podcast episodes.

For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X (formerly twitter), and visit our website.

If you have questions or comments, please email us at [email protected].

Advancing Nitrogen Smart is proud to be supported by the farm families of Minnesota and their corn check-off investment through Minnesota Corn.