By Wade Barnes, Founder of Ronin Agronomy & Farmers Edge
In Part 1, we broke down the real cost of fertility guesswork — and how intense soil sampling helps avoid six-figure mistakes. But what happens when you realize mid-season that you may have under-applied? Or that your plan doesn’t reflect current crop conditions?
Good news: you still have options. And if you’re willing to act quickly, you can still protect — or even improve — your bottom line.
Turn Efficiency Into Income: Incentives for Nitrogen Use
One of the newest opportunities in fertility management? Getting paid for doing it right.
Sustainability programs and corporate supply chains are now offering incentive payments to farmers who can prove they’re using nitrogen efficiently. These programs — some offering up to $30 per acre — reward practices like:
- Optimized nitrogen applications
- Use of soil/tissue testing
- Adoption of 4R nutrient stewardship principles
If you’re already using precision tools, this is your chance to turn good agronomy into direct dollars.
What Does It Cost? What Does It Pay?
Let’s break it down:
- Intense composite sampling (by zone):
$1.50–$2.75/acre (lab + service-dependent) - VRT mapping and prescriptions:
~$6/acre (includes data processing + application maps) - ROI Potential:
$30–$60+/acre — especially on high-value crops like canola or high-yielding cereals
Precision pays. And the more dialed-in your data, the better your return.
Heading Into Spring: Are You Really Set Up to Win?
As the season ramps up, every field pass matters. Ask yourself:
- Are you still using last year’s rates?
- Are your plans based on current field conditions?
- Are you applying more product than necessary — or in the wrong places?
Efficiency isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing what works — where it works.
Five In-Season Strategies If You’ve Under-Fertilized
Even the best-laid plans sometimes miss the mark. Here’s what you can do to course-correct:
1. In-Season Soil Sampling
Still underrated — and still extremely effective. If your crop looks pale, thin, or uneven, test the soil.
Best timing:
- Early stem elongation (cereals)
- 5–7 leaf stage (canola)
Target: Top 12″ of soil, sampled by zone (hilltops, slopes, low spots). This gives you a real-time look at residual nitrogen.
2. Tissue Testing
Paired with soil tests, tissue samples confirm what your crop is telling you.
Tips:
- Sample at key growth stages (e.g., flag leaf in wheat, bolting in canola)
- Repeat if needed to track trends
- Use results to guide targeted in-season corrections
Tissue testing doesn’t replace agronomy — it sharpens it.
3. Be Ready to Top-Dress
When nitrogen is short, don’t wait.
For Canola:
- Apply before bolting (ideally pre-flower)
- UAN or ammonium sulfate work well with moisture in forecast
For Cereals:
- Apply between stem elongation and flag leaf
- Stream bars or Y-drops minimize burn and get N to the soil
No moisture? Consider coated or stabilized N to hold the product until rain hits.
4. Use This Year to Plan for Next
This year’s thin strips, pale zones, and patchy growth? That’s not just a problem — it’s data.
Flag those areas now. Ground-truth them later. Often, fertility issues are zone-specific, not field-wide.
Build this intel into your fall sampling plan — and next year’s variable rate map.
5. Tap Into Local Insights
At Ronin, we’re already working with farms across multiple zones — and we may have soil and tissue data from fields near yours.
Reach out. We’d be happy to share what we’re seeing in your area — and help guide a smarter decision this season.
Bottom Line: The Tools Are Here — Use Them
Your equipment is capable. The data is available. The economics make sense.
The days of treating every acre the same are behind us. Whether it’s protecting yield, avoiding waste, or capturing new revenue — precision starts with better soil insight.
And the time to start… is now.
Want to fine-tune your fertility plan? Let’s talk. Contact Ronin Agronomy