Farm-Level Solutions
Farmers are reducing nitrogen pollution without reducing profits
The Iowa Soybean Association On-Farm Network is made up of farmers who work together to study and improve nitrogen management and increase crop production profits. They compare current nitrogen management practices with alternatives in replicated strip trials across their fields, using precision technology such as GPS. They pool and share their data in local and statewide groups to learn what works – and what doesn’t – to minimize nitrogen losses. Most growers involved have learned ways to reduce nitrogen use by 50 lbs. per acre or more without reducing profits.
Contact: Mick Lane, On-Farm Network Communications Manager
mlane AT iasoybeans DOT com or 515-251-8640
Pennsylvania
Farmers in the Chesapeake 
Bay region are tackling water quality challenges and rising chemical fertilizer and fuel costs. In southeastern Pennsylvania, 135 farmers taking part in the On Farm Network are using tools like the end-of-season cornstalk nitrate test, aerial imagery and replicated strip trials to learn whether too little, excess, or optimal nitrogen fertilizer was applied and to fine tune nitrogen management. Fertilizer application rates and timing, as well as conservation practices such as cover crops, are also utilized to allow farmers to conserve nitrogen.
Contact: Suzy Friedman, Regional Director for the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Defense Fund
sfriedman AT edf DOT org or 202-492-1023
California
Dairy farmers in the Central Valley are using a new tool that helps them improve groundwater quality and reduce chemical fertilizer use. The project includes installing flow meters in dairy lagoons to allow the controlled application of nitrogen-rich wastewater at beneficial levels, and using an in-field nitrogen test that tells farmers how much of this key nutrient they are applying to avoid water quality impacts. They then time applications to maximize crop uptake of nitrogen and prevent nitrate and salt migration into surface water or groundwater. In addition to improving water quality, farmers have reported saving tens of thousands of dollars annually by not having to purchase commercial nitrogen fertilizer for their crops, because they get all the nitrogen they need with their own dairy’s manure. The University of California (UC) Cooperative Extension, the non-profit Sustainable Conservation, and dairy trade associations are overseeing the project. For more info go to www.suscon.org.
Contact: Alex Karolyi, Associate Director of Communications, Sustainable Conservation
415-977-0380 ext. 317
Farm-based solutions that improve fertilizer efficiency and reduce nitrogen runoff
Buffer strips – Buffer strips and trees between crops and waterways can filter nitrogen and prevent it from seeping into groundwater or rivers and streams. The Conservation Security Program (part of the U.S. Farm Bill), provides incentives to farmers for this practice.
Winter cover crops – Crops planted in the fall can capture nitrogen left over from the summer crop before it can be washed into the surrounding watershed by fall and winter rains or spring snowmelt. The next crop can use the captured nitrogen when the cover crop is killed prior to spring planting. Some grain crops such as winter wheat can also be planted in the fall.
Precision farming – New global positioning system (GPS) technologies allow farmers to vary the rate of fertilizer application across a given field precisely, tailoring the amount applied to a particular portion of a field to the amount needed by the plants growing there.
Conservation tillage – With conservation tillage, farmers grow crops with little or no plowing. Crops grown without tillage tend to lose fewer nitrates to the environment.
Next Generation Biofuels – Biofuels developed with switchgrass and other perennial crops can provide a less-polluting source of energy than corn grain-ethanol. Perennial crops store nitrogen in their roots over winter and thus require less nitrogen fertilizer, and they can also capture soil nitrogen over a greater part of the year than can annual crops. Moreover, after initial planting they require no tillage. Plantations of small trees like willow and poplar provide another source of fuel more environmentally benign than growing corn.
Burning solid biofuels like switchgrass or small trees directly to create heat in buildings and factories provides an even more energy-efficient alternative to producing liquid ethanol. The energy gains from burning switchgrass are impressive—nine times more than by producing liquid corn-ethanol, with fewer environmental impacts. Sweden already heats a third of its homes and commercial businesses in this way, using biofuels grown on willow plantations.