I have sticker shock. No, I haven’t been shopping for a car. I just finished a long conversation with crop producer in west-central MN who I consider to be an excellent manager always making decisions based on the best information available. He’s been pricing N for the 2009 crop year.

I’m shocked. If purchased this fall, the price per pound of N will be somewhere between $.53 and $.64. If purchased next spring, the quoted price was about $.94 per pound of N. I can remember when 82-0-0 cost $.05 per pound of N. Now you know how old I am. While these prices may or may not be accurate for the entire state, they do show what is happening in the fertilizer world. The situation is real and it’s serious. The choices that revolve around management of fertilizer N (rate, source, placement, time of application, use of additives) rise to the top of the decision list.

With the high prices in place, it is essential that fertilizer N be applied in such a way that the potential for loss of fertilizer N be kept at a minimum. Best Management Practices that will achieve this goal have been identified and are now in print or available electronically. Printed copies are available (NO COST) from:1) Research and Outreach Centers, 2) Regional Extension Centers, and 3.) the Distribution Center of the Minnesota Extension Service.

There are 7 publications (Figure 1) and each has a different web URL. These are as follows:

These publications were written by University of Minnesota faculty located at Research and Outreach Centers or the Department of Soil, Water, and Climate. The Best Management Practices are based on research. They are designed to maximize profit while keeping potential N loss to a minimum.