Scientists at Purdue University are looking for farmers to participate in two projects aimed at improving the rate of fertilization and seeding of various crops. Davide Cammarano, Associate Professor of Agronomy, will use remote sensing and data science to maximize farm profits while minimizing environmental risk.
The first project, a joint project between the University of Minnesota and Purdue, seeks to find Indiana and Minnesota farmers willing to test a series of spot nitrogen application methods. Before planting corn, they will be asked to apply varying doses of nitrogen in stripes. Later, researchers will acquire satellite or aerial imagery of the fields and use this data to develop variable rate nitrogen fertilization prescriptions.
Today, only 20 percent of farmers in the Midwest practice spot nitrogen application on their farms. The data will help Cammarano and his colleagues determine application rates that provide the greatest agronomic, economic and environmental benefits for a wide variety of farm conditions, allowing more farmers to apply nitrogen spot strategies with confidence.
“The data we collect will help us develop plans for applying nitrogen in specific situations and for specific crops,” said Cammarano, whose experience includes crop modeling, remote sensing and precision farming. “We are using digital agricultural tools to bring maximum benefit to growers and the environment.”
Researchers are looking for a total of 10 fields of at least 30 acres across counties that vary in their vulnerability to nitrate groundwater contamination. These will be Jasper, Cass, Miami, Carroll, Blackford, Henry, Hendrix, Shelby, Dubois, and Wonderburg counties in Indiana.
Farmers must be eligible for the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQUIP) and have a crop consultant willing to cooperate with the project. Preference is given to those who have maps of fertilizer application, fields, yields and soil sample data for the last eight to ten years.
Farmers participating in the research will receive $1000 and compensation for any crop loss. Crop consultants will receive $300 per field.
A second collaborative project led by the University of Illinois is seeking cotton, corn, soybean, and wheat growers from Indiana, Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Texas, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Washington to improve fertilization strategies.
The researchers will provide farmers with tools they can use to make specific, data-driven assessments of the economic and environmental impacts of specific nitrogen, phosphorus and seeding rate management strategies.
“We are looking for opportunities for growers to get the most out of seeding rates and fertilizer application,” said Cammarano. “If we can find a middle ground for getting the maximum yield with the least amount of fertilizer, we will not only benefit economically, but also environmentally.”