00:00 We're talking about nitrogen reduction. We're coming to you from the Temple Roads Field Day, the last of extreme Ag Field Day. 00:05 It just concluded and we're kind of standing here just, uh, catching up as you know how that works in agriculture. 00:10 I got Tommy Roach with Natures. I got Kelly Garrett, one of the original founders of Extreme Ag. 00:14 Kelly's been doing a lot on na nitrogen reduction. Uh, we are at his farm last year. We took it clear down to zero pounds applied. 00:21 We were at, uh, Johnny lls where he did a bunch of different nitrogen reduction studies. This is the way of the future, 00:26 I think nitrogen's the new boogeyman and we're gonna have no choice legislatively, regulation wise, where we've gotta reduce nitrogen. 00:32 That's kind of how this conversation began. So here's my 2 cents. Uh, yes, we are applying too much 00:39 and everybody would agree with that. The common mistake that we do is if we want more yield, what do we do? Throw more nitrogen. And 00:47 that's probably the worst thing that you could ever do. Kelly Garrett has said at least six different times in different recordings, the holy grail 00:54 of American agriculture is make more corn. The Holy grail make more corn, is of course the way you do that is put more nitrogen out there. 01:00 More nitrogen, more nitrogen. It was never bad. There's a reason it was always cheap and it kinda worked. It also had devastating impact on some of our soil biology 01:10 that we're now starting to understand. Absolutely. We did have the technology in the past to understand this. 01:16 One of the things that we're now measuring, and we've measured it because of pattern ag, is our fungi to bacteria ratio. 01:22 We would like it to be one-to-One, when we have it one-to-one, our efficiency and our nutrient conversion is terrific. 01:30 I believe. I can't tell you what it is 'cause I don't have any fields one-to-one and my highly managed high yield soils. 01:35 I've got one field that's one to 1700. I've got another field that's one to 2300 and that's in a 300 bushel environment. 01:42 Tommy, I know that you went into Texas Tech, but even, even though you understand one to 2300 ratio is a hell of a long way from one to one. 01:49 It is. So anyway, but we're still getting yield. You're still getting 300 bushels. So what gives is, 01:54 because you can still put a bunch of synthetic fertilizer out there, but seems to me that eventually something's gonna give. 02:00 So since you brought up the, uh, school, school of choice, um, I don't wanna be the chemistry geek here, 02:07 but go back to the laws of physics and it says every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Mm-Hmm. So if you're putting on 02:17 way too much nitrogen, what's it affecting? Is it affecting carbon? Is it affecting biological activity in the soil? Absolutely. Absolutely. 02:23 I want point out though, but it's not that most farmers think they're putting on way too much nitrogen. 02:28 It's only because of studies like these guys are doing where Kelly and Johnny are saying, what if I cut back to half of prescribed, remember it was 1.3 pounds per bushel 02:38 or something was the recommended not that Long ago. It takes 1.2 pounds of nitrogen to produce a bushel of corn. 02:43 I fully believe that. But we're not giving enough credit to what mother nature, it's 02:48 Soil will provide 78% of her atmosphere or something like that is nitrogen. So it seems to me that we we're going to wise up 02:54 to this someday and say, my goodness, we really Overdid that. I couldn't agree more. 03:00 We can, um, help mitigate some of this stress that, that we're causing by over application of nitrogen by looking at balanced plant nutrition. 03:13 It's no different than what we deal with than humans or, or in cattle over there. 03:18 Um, they require balanced diet. Plants require balanced diet, and when you apply overly nitrogen, 03:25 you're just throwing the whole system outta whack. We can, we can get to it with more potassium mm-Hmm. More micros. Mm-Hmm. All those factor in. 03:35 How much are we over applying do you think? I mean, is is year 2024? Somebody might watch this 10 years from now 03:42 and say like, God, they were off. I I think it might be half. I think it might be, we might be putting twice 03:47 as much as we need to be putting on. I think it's different in different parts of the country. In my soils, uh, you know, 03:53 we talked about the trial we had last year replicated three times. So I feel like it's solid data. It's our own data. 03:58 We, we thought the grower standard practice is say 180 pounds of anhydrous and we had 0 61, 21 80 and 240 pounds 04:07 of anhydrous applied through a block of the field. This is a, uh, field been corn on corn 10 years, no-till on a side hill. 04:14 This is not what you would say is the best bottom ground. And the zero was $143 loser. 04:20 But the 60 through two 40 again replicated four, three times. So 12 different blocks. Right. All yielded 2 0 9 to two 14. 04:28 So if the 180 is grower standard practice, were three x what we need to be. Right? Yeah. As in that example, well 04:34 'cause 6 6, 1 third of that 60 pounds still gave you within a stone throw of the same yield. 04:39 Oh yeah. And I'm not even gonna tell you, I can't remember to have to look at it again. But it isn't like the 60 was 2 0 9 and the 180 was two 14. 04:46 It was mixed up. Tommy, We're recording this August, 2024 and we know that farm economics are gonna be obviously on a 04:52 down slide pretty significantly since just two years ago. Is this gonna be the impetus? Is this gonna be the year? 04:57 Is this gonna, or next year, 2025, the reason where people, meaning operators, producers say, oh, 05:04 I'm gonna back off by half. Is this the year that happens? Uh, 'cause it it is just too ingrained in their mind 05:09 To, it's gonna take something really drastic. And maybe that's legislation a drastic thing. Maybe it's legislation. 05:14 Well, when I say drastic people that we had these questions today at the field day, you know, why do you do what you do, 05:21 especially with phosphorus? And they said, because granddad did it. Mm-Hmm. And that's the same thing with this nitrogen topic. 05:29 Why are you putting that much nitrogen on? Because, because The most expensive thing we're doing on our farms 05:34 today is what we always have. Yeah. So you don't think that, uh, now here's the problem, and I don't like to bring this up 05:40 and we're, we're a family show and it's don't get cussing about politics, but the regulatory environment is gonna 05:45 change and it's gonna change fast. We can look at Europe, we can look at what's happened with the European Union. 05:49 There are absolute, not say, seizures and farms, but there are definitely being huge, pretty heavy handed government controls based on, 05:57 and it's all in the guise of nitrates that could come here. It is going to come now, when, 06:03 when is it gonna get here or to what level? Right. It it's gonna get here. Regulation unfortunately is going to, and 06:09 Nitrates are the new boogieman. Am I Right? Phosphorus has been a boogeyman for quite a while. Nitrogen is the next country. 06:17 I agree It is. And you, you'd say, well, not out here in farm country. Well, I'm not. I'm 35, 40 miles from the Ohio border. 06:23 We started hearing about the algae bloom in Lake Erie, which was directly attributed to over mostly phosphates. Phosphates in northern Ohio. 06:29 Agricul Chesapeake Bay, the same one Chesapeake Bay Where we're standing right now. And then he's in Iowa. 06:34 You'd say, oh, Iowa's a huge ag state, which it is. Well, they'll never have to have the regulation there. They're 06:38 They've already had It. The water situation and the The Des Moines watershed, Webster, Webster County, Iowa. That was because of nitrates, not phosphorus. Yes. 06:45 All right. Can we, can we get by with less nitrogen and we just gotta get a little smarter about it. Absolutely. Get by with less. 06:50 And it's all about placement and time. I look at it as the same thing with antibiotic usage and livestock production. 06:57 It used to be you fling it out there, then they put it in, the tetracycline was in the chicken drip lines, uh, 07:02 antibiotic over usage and hogs. I think it's the same thing. We scream bloody murder that we can't get by without it 07:08 until all of a sudden we can't Until we have to figure it out. And what would be most profitable for you and your family 07:14 and your operation is if you educate yourself ahead of time, be ahead of the curve. Yeah. I think figure it out 07:19 before becomes a regulatory thing because you're probably overspending anyhow. So it's not only the 07:24 environmental issue, it's the economics. I agree. You can help Tommy Roach with Nature Kelly Garrett, one of the founders 07:29 of Extreme Ag named Mason coming at you from our fifth and final extreme Ag Field Day here, Centerville, Maryland at Chestnut Marine Farms. 07:36 It was a great one. You know what, if you didn't catch any of our field days, or if you only caught one 07:40 or two of them, go to Extreme ag.farm and look at the footage. We've shot dozens 07:43 and dozens of videos at these field days to bring the learning home to you. Still not as good as coming here and getting to shake hands 07:49 and really kick the bricks and do this in real time. But you know what, it's a close substitute. Check it out. Extreme Ag Farm. Till next time 07:55 or next year, Dave Mason coming at you from Maryland. I.