Modern dairy production relies on capturing nutrient and production efficiencies for the animal and cropping sides of the business to optimize profitability.

The article “Avoiding excessive nitrate concentrations in 2021” in the February issue of Progressive Forage introduced carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen (CHON) and its importance to all living things, and spoke to the role humans play in managing nitrogen – the only CHON element that can be managed.

Cattle producers are familiar with livestock nutrition. They need to know the animals’ nutrient requirements and forage test the hay fed to the animals.

Nitrogen fertilizer management is highly impacted by changes and variability in climatic conditions. The specific aspects with the greatest effect include wet conditions in the fall, shortened winters, delayed spring fieldwork season, excessive precipitation early in the growing season and unusually heavy individual rainfall events.