Evaluation of Enhanced Nitrogen-use Efficiency Products

Currently, there has been a growing interest in using enhanced Nitrogen (N)-use efficiency (NUE) products in western Canada.

IPNI-2016-CAN-AB37

01 Feb 2016

Project Description


Overall Objectives:
Currently, there has been a growing interest in using enhanced Nitrogen (N)-use efficiency (NUE) products in western Canada. NUE products are marketed to reduce N losses and/or to better synchronize N supply with crop demand, which can potentially increase crop yield under certain growing conditions and management practices in Alberta. Before producers can start widely adopting NUE products in Alberta, a comprehensive study needs to be conducted to critically evaluate the effectiveness and economic cost benefits of these products under Alberta soil and weather conditions, and cropping systems.

The objective of this project is to synthesize past and current yield and cost data collected on NUE products in western Canada, to better understand the environmental conditions, soil properties and cropping systems a grower would likely see an economic cost benefit. The economic cost benefit of using these products will be determined by the expected profitability which is based on production costs and expected yields. This project will summarize the type of NUE products available in Alberta and the recommended rate/timing/placement for each product under the various cropping systems and soil types.

Key deliverables:
  1. A report that includes: a summary of data collected on NUE products in western Canada, a review of the NUE products available in Alberta and the associated application rates, recommended timing and placement as well as the economic cost benefit analysis on the NUE products. Data will be provided to Alberta Agriculture and Forestry to be added to the Alberta Farm Fertilizer Information and Recommendation Manager (AFFIRM) system. The report will also include knowledge and data gaps will also be identified for NUE products and recommendations will be provided for future research directions.
  2. An Excel spreadsheet calculator that will be incorporated into Crop Returns (Crop Enterprise Analysis tool) which would enable farmers to evaluate profitability of using NUE products by calculating production costs, breakeven selling prices and expected financial gain.
  3. Extension materials (pamphlets and PowerPoint presentation) to help growers understand which product to use, how to use it (timing, placement and rate), when to expect a response and the potential economic benefits of using these products.

Project Description and Methodology:
Phase I – Compilation of NUE product data
Partnering with various stakeholders including: academic institutions (University of Alberta, University of Saskatchewan and University of Manitoba), government agencies (Department of Agriculture and Forestry) and private industries (Farmer’s Edge, Agrium, Dow AgroSciences, Dupont, BASF and Koch), this project will compile a detailed summary of research studies conducted to test NUE products in western Canada. A review will be conducted on the NUE products available in Alberta, including the associated application rates, recommended timing and placement.

Phase II – Economic cost benefit analysis
An economic cost benefit analysis will be conducted to determine the scenario where NUE products would yield the highest economic cost benefit per acre. An excel spreadsheet template will be put together that would calculate the profitability of applying NUE products based on key variables such as fertilizer prices, fuel prices, cropping system, expected yields and selling prices.

Phase III – Consultation with Stakeholders
The economic cost analysis and the profitability calculations on NUE products will be submitted to key stakeholders for review. The project leads will meet with stakeholders to garner feedback on the economic cost analysis and profitability calculations.

Phase IV – Final report, extension materials and recommendations
The final report will be compiled to include knowledge and data gaps identified for NUE products and recommendations for future research directions. The Excel spreadsheet calculator will be incorporated into the Crop Enterprise Analysis Tool. Data collected from this project will be made available to Len Kryzanowski (Alberta Agriculture and Forestry) to be added to the Alberta Farm Fertilizer Information and Recommendation Manager (AFFIRM) system. Extension materials (pamphlet and PowerPoint presentation) will be made to provide guidance and support for farmers on the use of NUE products.

Benefit to the Industry:
NUE products can provide agronomic and economic cost benefits for farmers, as well as environmental benefits to Albertans through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and ground and surface water contamination associated with fertilizer and manure application to cropland.

NUE products can reduce N losses and increase N availability by either slowing release or changing chemical reactions that lead to N losses thus lowering N2O emissions on per unit of production basis. This in-turn may also lead to better matching of N supply in the soil to the crop demand over the growing season, resulting in higher yield and better grain quality without over-applying N.

Some NUE products are marketed to expand the window of fertilizer application in the fall. Fall application of fertilizer with NUE products may provide an indirect economic cost benefit by giving farmers more flexibility during spring seeding time and potentially allowing for earlier planting and reduced risk of harvest losses from frost. Furthermore some varieties have a yield benefit associated with a longer growing season. Fall application of fertilizer and NUE products can also provide other economic cost benefits, as fall fertilizer prices are usually lower than spring prices and on-farm storage of fertilizer ties up bin space. These benefits may offset or partially offset the cost of the NUE products.