Your Pastures Need Nitrogen Too — A Stabilizer Can Help

Timely nitrogen application, paired with a nitrogen stabilizer, can help increase total production, extend the growth season and optimize the health and profitability of grazing lands and herds. 

“I often tell livestock producers: You think you raise only livestock, but to raise quality livestock, you have to raise quality grass too,” said Matt Fryer, technical agronomist for Koch Agronomic Services. “Good pasture management practices — including nitrogen — can increase the quality and quantity of forage and grazing, leading to higher profitability.” 

What to Consider When Planning Pasture Nitrogen Management

1. Soil testing: Conducting a soil test every three to four years will determine any nutrient deficiencies the pasture may be experiencing. Understanding the levels of pH, phosphorus, potassium and other nutrients allows farmers to develop a nutrient management plan without the risk of overfertilizing — which can lead to inefficiency and waste. 
2. Application timing: Grasses have specific growth patterns and nutrient demands throughout the growing season. Timing nitrogen applications to coincide with periods of active growth ensures that plants can efficiently absorb the applied nitrogen. According to local practices and university recommendations, farmers can maximize nutrient uptake and promote optimal plant development by applying nitrogen in the early spring at regular intervals. 
3. Weed control and pasture management: Weeds compete with desirable pasture grasses for sunlight, water, nutrients and space. Left unchecked, weeds can quickly overtake pasture areas, reducing the productivity and quality of forage available for grazing livestock. Grazing forages no shorter than three inches in height and spraying helps suppress weed growth, allowing pastures to thrive and maximize forage quantity and nutritional value. For the best fertilizer response, delay spring grazing until pastures have been growing for at least two weeks, rotate herds to avoid continuous grazing and allow for recovery periods. 
4. Use a nitrogen stabilizer: Multiple factors contribute to nitrogen loss, including soil moisture, plant residue, warm temperatures, wind and soil pH. No matter when it is applied, nitrogen is vulnerable to loss. Incorporating a nitrogen stabilizer can help protect your nitrogen investment by: 

• Improving nutrient uptake 
• Boosting growth
• Reducing volatilization, leaching and denitrification 
• Prolonging grazing season by extending grass growth

Nitrogen Stabilizer Products That Can Help

ANVOL™ and SUPERU™ are nitrogen stabilizers designed to improve nitrogen efficiency and extend the time the plant has access to the nutrient. 

• ANVOL nitrogen stabilizer features the patented active ingredient Duromide. By inhibiting urease activity and keeping nitrogen in the ammonium form, ANVOL reduces nitrogen loss by inhibiting urease enzyme activity, drastically reducing ammonia volatilization loss.
• SUPERU is a specially formulated dry and stabilized fertilizer product that delivers operational efficiency. It features the highest concentration of nitrogen available in a ready-to-use, stabilized fertilizer product. It contains both a urease and nitrification inhibitor to guard against all three forms of nitrogen loss and optimizes yield potential. 

“Nitrogen stabilizers help improve nitrogen efficiency by reducing losses from volatilization, leaching and denitrification,” said Fryer. “By stabilizing nitrogen in the soil and extending its availability to the pasture grass over a longer period, these products maximize the plant's uptake of nitrogen, ensuring that more of the applied fertilizer contributes to plant and livestock growth rather than being lost to the environment.”

To learn more about products that bring value and protect your nitrogen investment, visit Koch Agronomic Services.