The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) and Cornell University Crop and Soil Sciences and Earth and Atmospheric Sciences departments have released the results of their latest efforts to enhance real-time weather-based precision nitrogen (N) management in New York state’s northernmost counties.
Based in part on 18 years of field studies in Northern New York, the van Es Lab at Cornell University developed the Adapt-N data-driven simulation software to help reduce uncertainty about optimum nitrogen application rates, particularly driven by early-season variable weather conditions.
‘Nitrogen management on corn silage and grain acres can be costly when the nutrient is overapplied without any gain in crop yield. The dynamic recommendations of Adapt-N can reduce overall inputs, cost, and environmental losses,’ says Cornell Crop and Soil Sciences Professor Dr. Harold van Es.
Adapt-N functions in real-time, daily adapting recommendations to current weather conditions. Farmers and crop consultants can receive weather-adjusted updates daily via email or text alert.
In 2013, with an uncharacteristically wet spring, the tool successfully adapted N recommendations to account for early-season N dynamics, and further demonstrated its ability to improve New York State farmers’ profits.