In his fifth year of farming, Aurora, Neb., strip-tiller Nick Preissler tried the new pilot nitrogen management class (limited to 180 pounds per acre nitrogen) because it fit his corn production strategy. This was the first time that he, his dad, uncle and grandpa all entered the NCGA yield contest, thanks to his seed dealer’s encouragement.
Preissler is a realist regarding the future of nitrogen use, knowing that restrictions could happen at some point. That’s why his goal is to grow profitable corn using 0.5 pounds nitrogen per bushel—cutting old recommendations in half.
“We had a field last year that was near that 0.5 pound per bushel mark, so that goal is doable, given the right environment and management,” he says. The 2023 winning 312.9 bu./acre yield only took 0.57 pounds nitrogen per bushel per acre.
His irrigated, strip-till corn-on-corn crop faced a challenging hot and dry summer, but cooler night-time temperatures gave the plants a break. He applied 14 inches of irrigation water on Hastings silt loam soil.
Preissler didn’t treat his contest plot differently than other corn acres; fall soil tests drive decisions. When building spring-applied strips, he applied PhoSZ (12-39-0-6S-0.5Zn) in-furrow. This was followed by preplant knifing in a flat rate of 160 pounds nitrogen per acre 32 percent liquid plus Thio-Sul.
His seed dealer recommended Pioneer P1742Q, planted at their regular rate of 32,500 plants per acre on April 25. No starter was applied with the planter.
His only in-season application besides water was one aerial application of Trivapro fungicide around tasseling. Preissler prepared to fertigate if his Sentinel Fertigation weekly satellite images and N-Time software suggested a need, but it didn’t.
The software compares the field base nitrogen rate with eight small indicator blocks that contain a prescribed higher and lower rate of nitrogen. “We’re in our second year of watching this real-time nitrogen data, which has become a great way to understand what the crop needs instead of trying to guess,” he adds.
Preissler credits the hybrid for playing a significant role in his success and knowing he can fertigate as needs arise. His results showed that there’s more work needed to dial in nitrogen efficiencies. “There’s been a lot of over-applying in previous years, so we’ll just keep experimenting with moving efficiency levels forward.”
Fellow Nebraskan Achieves 307-Bushel Yield With 0.47 Pounds of N Per Bushel
South-central Nebraska irrigated strip-till corn grower Jay Reiners liked the new nitrogen management contest class because it fit his standard practice.
“I wish this J Class would have started 10 years ago, as I would have been in it all the time,” Reiners says. “I need to figure out how to make more bushels with less nitrogen.”
In a severe drought year (2023) where pivot corners struggle to get 10 bu./acre, Reiners achieved 307.5 bu./acre with a new Pioneer P1170AM hybrid at 32,000 population in 30-inch rows in Hastings silt loam soil. His continuous corn on corn requires triple stacks to ward off rootworms.
Reiners’ fertility program is the same across all his corn acres. He starts with 20 gallons per acre of 32 percent liquid, applied with a strip freshener ahead of the planter. In-season, he uses Y-Drops to apply 20 to 25 gallons per acre of 32 percent around V10 to V12. He didn’t use tissue testing this year because it doesn’t vary enough to change recommendations.
Insects were not a problem this year (2023), but Reiners continues his 6- to 7-year weed battle against the nasty Palmer Amaranth. He firmly believes in fungicides for disease, often applying twice if southern rust comes in late. Luckily, only one application at VT was needed this year.
His dreams of record irrigated yields were dashed during severe heat for 10 days in August. “We never cooled off below 80 degrees at night, so that corn plant never rested, which probably took 10 to 15 percent off our top-end yield,” Reiners says.
