Fall NH3 and Nitrogen Stabilizers

It is starting to feel like fall weather and many farmers are well into harvest with many on the downhill slide. I have had several conversations in the last few weeks about timing the start of fall NH3 application.

The old standard for safe application of NH3 is after November 1, with soil temperatures at 50 degrees and patterns of cooling weather in the forecast. Many ask why we should follow that standard. The answer is NH3 does not convert to nitrate below 50 degrees and is stable. Microbial activity is slow in the soil at that point. This keeps Nitrate N from leaching into the groundwater during wet spells.

Adding a Nitrogen stabilizer adds insurance to keeping nitrogen stable in the soil profile as well. Function N slows the microbial activity and stabilizes the nitrogen, keeping NH3 in a stable form that will not leach into our groundwater. It will make more of it available for our crop to use when needed next summer. This allows us to start NH3 applications a little earlier and give us insurance into the spring as well. We also have stabilizers available for Super Grow applications and liquid manure applications as well.

Talk to your local SFG agronomist about having stabilizer added to your fall Nitrogen applications to ensure that the N you have paid for is available for your crops when the plants are actively growing and need it to optimize yields.