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Precision Conservation Management releases new data

The director of water quality research at the Illinois Corn Growers Association says new data better shows how nitrogen management and tillage effect a farm’s profitability.

Dr. Laura Gentry says the Precision Conservation Management (PCM) program has found nitrogen recommendations are accurate.

“The University of Illinois maximum return to nitrogen system has predicted the most profitable nitrogen application rate and range every single year since 2015.”  She says, “And yet most of the farmers in our program are applying nitrogen rates above that rate.”

She tells Brownfield tillage practices also impact a farm’s bottom line.

“Our net profitability is generally the greatest for the same tillage systems each year.”  She says, “It’s a ‘one pass light’ or ‘two pass light’ tillage systems for corn, or ‘one pass light,’ ‘two pass light’ and sometimes ‘two pass moderate’ are the most profitable systems for soybean.”

Central Illinois farmer Dirk Rice, who’s been involved in the program since its inception, says the PCM data gives him confidence in the conservation efforts he’s implementing.

“We’re aggregating numbers and they’re real world numbers.”  He says, “They’re coming from farmers. They’re not coming from a quarter acre test plot. We’re working to get spread out to get as many people involved as we can. We’re using real world practices.”

The PCM program has been helping farmers in Illinois, Kentucky, and Nebraska examine the profitability of their conservation practices for the past nine years. 

A link to more information can be found HERE.

AUDIO: Dr. Laura Gentry – Illinois Corn Growers Association