Today we’re talking all about nitrogen-fixing biologicals. What's the best definition of a biological or biostimulant? Are they fertilizers, pesticides - or neither? In what ways do they interact with nitrogen in the field? Where and how are biological products tested? Which environmental factors might impact biologicals? How should they be properly transported and stored? How can farmers assess whether biostimulants might be right for their operation? All this and more on today's episode.

Guests:

• Dan Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)
• Carl Rosen, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)

Additional resources:

• NCERA103.org
• Nitrogen-fixing biological products: Four Midwest experts weigh in on industry claims, on-farm research tips, and more
• Nitrogen-fixing biological products: New report summarizes research from across the Corn Belt
• "Fixation" in the soil: What you need to know (article talks about fixation in the context of P and K)

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Click here to listen to all Advancing Nitrogen Smart podcast episodes.

For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X (formerly twitter), and visit our website.

If you have questions or comments, please email us at nutmgmt@umn.edu.

Advancing Nitrogen Smart is proud to be supported by the farm families of Minnesota and their corn check-off investment through Minnesota Corn.

Today we’re talking all about variable rate nitrogen. What underlying information do we need to make decisions about VRN? What areas in the field might be prone to N loss? Should you only add extra N to high-yielding areas, or could a low-yielding zone also show positive responses? What effect could your overall management strategy have on a variable rate response? All this and more on today's episode.

Guests:

• Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato)
• Dan Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)

Additional resources:

• Variable rate nitrogen and nitrogen advisory tools: Do they work?
• Nitrogen Smart
• Understanding nitrogen in soils

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Click here to listen to all Advancing Nitrogen Smart podcast episodes.

For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X (formerly twitter), and visit our website.

If you have questions or comments, please email us at nutmgmt@umn.edu.

Advancing Nitrogen Smart is proud to be supported by the farm families of Minnesota and their corn check-off investment through Minnesota Corn.

Here we are in 2025. Today on the Nutrient Management Podcast, our panelists talk about how the practice of nutrient management has changed over the last quarter century. How have precipitation levels - and perceptions about precipitation - changed? What came before the current Maximum Return To Nitrogen management model, and what did the change address? How has U of M research contributed to sulfur nutrient management understanding? How has awareness of ground and surface water quality evolved? Finally, how has tech changed (or not changed) the practice of fertilizer management over the last quarter century? This and much more on today's show.

Guests:

• Daniel Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)
• Carl Rosen, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)
• Jeff Vetsch, U of M researcher (Waseca)
• Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato)
• Fabian Fernandez, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)

Additional Resources:

• Nutrient management (UMN Extension)
• Register for Nitrogen Conference & Nutrient Management Conference

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Click here to listen to all Nutrient Management Podcast episodes.

For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X (formerly twitter), and visit our website.

If you have questions or comments, please email us at nutmgmt@umn.edu.

Support for the Nutrient Management Podcast is provided by Minnesota's fertilizer tonnage fee through the Agricultural Fertilizer Research & Education Council (AFREC). Learn more at MNsoilfertility.com.

Nitrogen conservation and water quality are the subject of today's Advancing Nitrogen Smart episode. There's lots to cover so we're splitting the episode up into two parts. Today in Part 1, Brad Carlson and Jeff Vetsch unpack different conservation solutions, and what might be achieved from their adoption. In what situations might buffer strips, cover crops, and corn genetics play their part? What about using technology-such as active and passive sensors? How do any reactive mitigation costs compare with proactive nutrient management planning? This and much more on today's episode.

Guests:

• Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato)
• Jeff Vetsch, researcher at the Southern Research and Outreach Center (Waseca)

Additional resources:

• 2025 Nitrogen Conference
• How to interpret a water test for nitrate
• Nitrogen Smart

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Click here to listen to all Advancing Nitrogen Smart podcast episodes.

For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X (formerly twitter), and visit our website.

If you have questions or comments, please email us at nutmgmt@umn.edu.

Advancing Nitrogen Smart is proud to be supported by the farm families of Minnesota and their corn check-off investment through Minnesota Corn.

We continue our conversation about nitrogen conservation and water quality on Advancing Nitrogen Smart. Today in Part 2, Brad Carlson and Jeff Vetsch continue discussing new technologies that may help address nitrogen loss, such as passive sensors and crop modeling systems. How might future tools such as AI play a part? How is precision testing affected by timing? In what ways can hybrid engineering, and further efficiencies in inhibitors be leveraged? This and much more on today's episode.

Guests:

• Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato)
• Jeff Vetsch, researcher at the Southern Research and Outreach Center (Waseca)

Additional resources:

• 2025 Nitrogen Conference
• How to interpret a water test for nitrate
• Nitrogen Smart

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Click here to listen to all Advancing Nitrogen Smart podcast episodes.

For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X (formerly twitter), and visit our website.

If you have questions or comments, please email us at nutmgmt@umn.edu.

Advancing Nitrogen Smart is proud to be supported by the farm families of Minnesota and their corn check-off investment through Minnesota Corn.

Today on the podcast we focus on soybean nutrient management. Our four soybean and nutrient management panelists from across Minnesota and North Dakota explain their research trials, and discuss some preliminary results in the region. Also, what should growers keep in mind as we transition into 2025? What are the panelists' concerns about IDC? That and much more on our last episode of 2024.

Guests:

• Lindsay Malone, Assistant professor, Climate Smart Approaches to Agriculture (NDSU)
• Lindsay Pease, Extension nutrient and water management specialist (Crookston)
• Seth Naeve, Extension soybean agronomist (St. Paul)
• Daniel Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)

Additional Resources:

• Growing soybean
• Is it worth applying sulfur to your soybean crop?
• Chloride and soybean: What to know about potash fertilizer management

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Click here to listen to all Nutrient Management Podcast episodes.

For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast wherever you listen and never miss an episode. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, and to our YouTube channel. Be sure to like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X (formerly Twitter), and of course visit our website.

If you have questions or comments, please email us at nutmgmt@umn.edu.

Support for the Nutrient Management Podcast is provided by Minnesota's fertilizer tonnage fee through the Agricultural Fertilizer Research & Education Council (AFREC). Learn more at MNsoilfertility.com.

After spending last episode talking about the background and history of nitrogen rate recommendations in Minnesota, today on episode 14 we’re talking about what to keep in mind as you begin predicting your nitrogen rate needs. How do yield, and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) factor into decision making? Are there any N rate databases available to Minnesota growers? What are the pros and cons of a variable rate strategy, or cover crops for example? Brad and Dan talk about that and much more on today's episode.

TRANSCRIPT

Guests:

• Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato)
• Daniel Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)

Additional resources:

• Corn nitrogen rate calculator
• Fertilizing corn in Minnesota
• Nitrogen fertilizer BMPs for agricultural lands

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Click here to listen to all Advancing Nitrogen Smart podcast episodes.

For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X (formerly twitter), and visit our website.

If you have questions or comments, please email us at nutmgmt@umn.edu.

Advancing Nitrogen Smart is proud to be supported by the farm families of Minnesota and their corn check-off investment through Minnesota Corn.

Today Brad and Dan explore the background and rationale behind nitrogen rate recommendations in Minnesota. How have Minnesota's N rate recommendations evolved over time? What data does the MRTN approach take into account? How are these N rates organized?

Guests:

• Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato)
• Daniel Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)

Additional resources:

• What to know about the MRTN approach
• Are you overspending on fertilizer?
• Corn Nitrogen Rate Calculator
• Corn fertilizer guidelines - U of M

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Click here to listen to all Advancing Nitrogen Smart podcast episodes.

For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook, follow us on X (formerly twitter), and visit our website.

If you have questions or comments, please email us at nutmgmt@umn.edu.

Advancing Nitrogen Smart is proud to be supported by the farm families of Minnesota and their corn check-off investment through Minnesota Corn.