Even the experts cannot guess what urea prices will be in 2009, but one thing is certain –one of the most efficient and cost effective sources of nitrogen is urea. Urea has high nitrogen content, but also has a problem with volatility of a different nature than price.

You may not be aware that urea can begin disappearing about as quickly as it’s applied. Even in cool spring weather, unprotected urea can quickly convert to ammonia gas in the presence of the urease enzyme. This process is called volatilization. It’s one of the major causes of nitrogen loss, along with denitrification and leaching, which can rob fields of nitrogen. In some cases, those losses can reach 50 percent or more of applied nitrogen.

In the past, growers have been advised to immediately incorporate their urea. But that’s not practical for most growers because of the desire to reduce tillage for conservation and economic reasons and the practical considerations of today’s larger farms. Fortunately, there’s AGROTAIN.

AGROTAIN controls urea volatility for pennies per pound of nitrogen, so you maximize nitrogen efficiency. Without AGROTAIN, you run the risk of running short of nitrogen

during the most critical growth stage of your crop and hurting your yields OR you may have to apply more nitrogen than normally recommended, increasing your costs.

Now, I work in agriculture, not economics. But experience shows that investing pennies per pound to make your urea and liquid nitrogen more efficient may be one of the best decisions you can make in 2009. Just ask your dealer to include AGROTAIN in your nitrogen fertilizer order this season.

If you have a question for The Nitrogen Miser or for more information about stabilized nitrogen technology, contact me at ndavy@agrotain.comor call 204-479-7540 or 888-425-8732.

AGROTAIN.COM

The post Nitrogen Miser appeared first on Grainews.