If you raise your own corn, either for grain or silage, you’re probably giving a lot of thought to how much more money you are going to be spending this year on nitrogen. As the cost of all our energy inputs have ebbed and flowed, Nitrogen costs are the one input no expected to soften, even as Natural Gas prices have retreated to more reasonable levels. To assist in planning your application rates, there are two great new tools available. The first is a Nitrogen Energy Estimator available at USDA’s website. This energy consumption tool enables you to calculate the cost of nitrogen product use on your farm. NRCS agronomists have developed these cost estimates based on nitrogen fertilizer management methods for the predominant crops in your state.

The second tool is available from The Ohio State University. They have developed a Nitrogen rate calculator that figures your application rate based on both desired yield AND both the cost of Nitrogen couple with the price of corn at which you will market. The combination provides for maximum efficiency by taking into account the profit potential of the crop and balancing those concerns at the time of application. OSU Extension soil scientist Robert Mullen commented that “Historically, we’ve treated excess nitrogen as cheap crop insurance. While that used to be the case, it’s not true any more.”

Each calculator is customized to your geography, and allows you to input several variables to get the most specific recommendation possible.