Cattle eating hay
High nitrate levels in winter forage feed can be mitigated with the right management strategy, such as dilution.

Pasture and Forage Minute: Making a Drought Plan, Monitoring Forage Nitrates

February 23, 2022
Extension educators share their insights on effective grazing and forage plans with respect to potential drought conditions in 2022, and preventing nitrate poisoning from winter feed.

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Tractor in field
By incorporating residual nitrate-nitrogen into the nitrogen fertilizer prescription, there is potential to substantially reduce fertilizer cost per acre.

Now is the Time to Use the Nutrients You are Banking in Your Soils

October 20, 2021
With the recent increase in fertilizer prices, it is more important than ever to use the right amount of fertilizer to maximize the economic returns. Applying too little or too much fertilizer can result in substantial economic loss.

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Corn residue
Short pastures and hay prices have some farmers considering an early corn harvest to provide more grazing options.
cover crops

Using Cover Crops to Reduce Nitrate Leaching in the Waverly Wellhead Protection Area

August 3, 2021
Nebraska Extension research on growing cover crops to reduce nitrate leaching and improving soil resilience in Nebraska communities where groundwater nitrate concentration in municipal wells is rising.

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Tractor in field
Anticipated high residual soil nitrate-N levels in Nebraska rainfed crops of dry 2020 may allow reduced N rates for 2021.

Q&As on Nitrogen Investment in Corn This Year

March 31, 2021
Most of Nebraska was drier than normal in 2020, which means a potential increase of residual nitrate-N. As such, producers may need to reduce fertilizer-N rates for 2021 — but how much is enough?

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Nebguide g2322

New NebGuide - Crop Management to Reduce Soil Nitrous Oxide Emissions in Nebraska

February 24, 2020
A new NebGuide, G2322, authored by Bijesh Maharjan, Virginia Jin, Laila Puntel, Javed Iqbal, Tyler Williams, Humberto Blanco and Charles Wortmann, is available in both html and PDF formats.

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Figure 3

Agronomic Management for Reduced Nitrate Leaching

January 7, 2020
The leaching of nitrate to groundwater and the increasing occurrence of groundwater with excessive nitrate levels for human consumption is a major concern in Nebraska. The amount of leached NO3- depends on soil NO3- concentration at different soil depth layers and the quantity of water movement downward through these soil layers to beyond the root zone.

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Graph of potential N loss

Considerations for Fall Fertilizer-Nitrogen Application

October 30, 2019
Fall fertilizer applications offer cost savings and time management benefits, but also may contribute to increased soil nitrate-N leaching. With Nebraska's high soil moisture levels, consider these suggestions when applying nitrogen this fall.

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