Corn yield response to increasing nitrogen (N) rate follows the Law of Diminishing Returns – as higher and higher increments of N are applied, the increase in grain yield becomes smaller and smaller. Eventually, maximum yield occurs and applying more N does not increase yield any further.
Interestingly, maximum yield regarding N fertilization does not produce the maximum profit. Profit from N application is maximized when the value of additional grain produced is just greater than the cost of additional N. Beyond that rate of N, profit declines because the cost of N is more than the value of additional grain produced.
We recommend that farmers select the rate of N to be applied based on the cost of N and the expected value of grain. Currently, the cost of N is historically high, nearly $1 per pound of N from anhydrous ammonia to more than $1 per pound for liquid N. Use Table 1 to find your cost of N per pound from the per ton cost. Grain prices are also relatively high and some expect them to increase in the future.
To obtain the profit-optimizing N rate recommendation for your N cost and expected grain price use the Table for the appropriate regional grouping. For example, assuming N at 1$ per pound and corn at $6.50 per bushel, the optimum profitable N rate for corn after soybeans for the three IN regional groupings would be 191, 209, and 171 pounds of N per acre for fine-textured soils in central, northeast and eastcentral, and the remainder of Indiana including sandy non-irrigated soils.
At these profit-optimizing rates the reduction in yield would only be 1-2%, compared to fertilizing for maximum yield.
Editor’s Note: For accompanying Tables and Figures see the full article here (PDF).
