PRE-ASSESSMENT:Why Should I Be Concerned?

Nitrogen, phosphorous and other nutrients are essential to good crop production. But, the nutrients thatare beneficial for plant growth can be harmful if they are present above certain concentrations* in streams,ponds, coastal waters, or ground water. In most of our fresh water bodies, phosphorus is the nutrient in shortestsupply. When excess phosphorus from animal manures, fertilizers, or other sources enter these waters, itcauses algae to grow faster and turn water a green color. This process is called eutrophication. It can preventrecreational uses such as fishing and swimming. In brackish waters such as marshes and estuaries, a similarsituation can occur when too much nitrogen is present.

Excess nitrogen can also be a problem in ground water. Nitrate is a form of nitrogen that can posehealth problems for both humans and animals if concentrations are too high in the drinking water. The drinkingwater standard for nitrate-nitrogen is 10 parts per million (ppm). When concentrations are above this limit,infants younger than six months can develop a disorder called methemoglobinemia or blue baby syndrome.Nitrate-nitrogen concentrations in the range of 20-40 ppm can cause reproductive problems or other healthproblems in ruminants, horses, or baby animals.

Because we need clean drinking water and enjoy water-based recreational activities, excess nutrientsin water are a concern to everyone. As a farmer, you are paying to supply your crops with nutrients, so it alsomakes economic sense to manage these resources as efficiently as possible. Good nutrient management canimprove your profitability as well as protect the environment.

* Words found in italics are defined in the glossary.

Land Management

NUTRIENT MANAGEMENTJulia Gaskin, Educational Program Specialist

Biological & Agricultural EngineeringGlen Harris, Assistant Professor

Crop & Soil Science

Cooperative Extension, The University of Georgia, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Athens

• This assessment allows you to evaluate yourpotential impact on the water quality on yourfarm and in nearby water bodies.

• The assessment uses your answers (rankings) toidentify high risk practices that should be modi-fied.

• The nutrient management facts provide an over-view of practices to prevent pollution.

• The assessment assists you in writing an actionplan based on your needs as identified by theassessment.

How Do I Use This Farm *A*Syst Assessment?• This assessment asks a series of questions about

your nutrient management practices.• You are encouraged to complete the entire docu-

ment.• Farm *A*Syst is a voluntary program.

How Does This Assessment Help Protect Drinking Water and the Environment?

• The assessment should be conducted by you foryour use. If needed, a professional from theGeorgia Cooperative Extension Service or oneof the other partnership organizations can pro-vide assistance in completing the assessment oraction plan.• No information from this assessment needs to

leave your farm.

GEORGIA FARM *A*SYST

FARM ASSESSMENT SYSTEM

ASSESSMENT:Assessing Your Nutrient Management Practices

For each category listed on the left, read across to the right and circle the statement that best describes conditions onyour farm. If a category does not apply, for example, it asks about animal manures and you don’t use animal manures,then skip that question. Once you have decided on the most appropriate answer, look above the description to find yourrank number (4, 3, 2 or 1) and enter that number in the “RANK” column. The entire assessment should take less than 30minutes. A glossary is on page 11 to clarify words found in italics throughout this assessment.

2

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5

Number of Areas Ranked ______ Ranking Total _____ (Number of questions answered, if all answered, should total 28.) (Sum of all numbers in the “RANK” Column)

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6

ASSESSMENT EVALUATION:What Do I Do with These Rankings?

STEP 1: Identify Areas That Have Been Determined to be at RiskLow risk practices (4s) are ideal and should be your goal. Low to moderate risk practices (3s) providereasonable protection. Moderate to high-risk practices (2s) provide inadequate protection in many circum-stances. High-risk practices (1s) are inadequate and pose a high risk for causing environmental, health, eco-nomic, or regulatory problems.

High risk practices, rankings of “1” require immediate attention. Some may only require little effort tocorrect, while others could be major time commitments or costly to modify. These may require planning orprioritizing before you take action. All activities identified as “high risk” or “1s” should be listed in an actionplan. Rankings of “2s” should be examined in greater detail to determine the exact level of risk and attentiongiven accordingly.

STEP 2: Determine Your Nutrient Management Risk RankingThe Nutrient Management Risk Ranking provides a general idea of how your farming practices might be affect-ing your ground and surface water.

Use the Ranking Total and the Total Number or Areas Ranked on page 5 to determine the Nutrient ManagementRisk Ranking

NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT RISK RANKING . . . . . LEVEL OF RISK3.6 to 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Low Risk2.6 to 3.5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Low to Moderate Risk1.6 to 2.5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Moderate Risk1.0 to 1.5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . High Risk

This ranking gives you an idea of how your farming practices might be affecting ground and surface water on oraround your farm, including your drinking water. This ranking should serve only as a very general guide, andnot as a precise diagnosis since it represents the average of many individual rankings.

STEP 3: Read the Information/Fact Section on Nutrient Management PracticesWhile reading, think how you could modify your practices to address some of your moderate and high-riskareas. If you have any questions that are not addressed in the nutrient management facts portion of this assess-ment, consult the references in the back of this publication or contact your county Extension agent for moreinformation.

STEP 4: Transfer Information to the Total Farm Assessment.If you are completing this assessment as part of a “Total Farm Assessment,” also transfer yourNutrientManagement Risk Ranking and your identified high-risk practices to the overall farm assessment.

RANKING TOTAL -- TOTAL NUMBER OF AREAS RANKED = NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT RISK RANKING

__________ -- __________ = __________

..

:

The goal of nutrient management is to maximizefarm productivity while minimizing the movementof nutrients into surface and ground water. Nutrientmanagement includes developing a nutrient budgetand site management practices. The goal of a nutri-ent budget is to only put out the nutrients that cropsneed and thereby reducing excess nutrients. The goalof site management practices is to reduce the poten-tial of any excess nutrients reaching either surfaceor ground water. Both nutrient budgets and site man-agement practices have to be developed for a par-ticular farm. What works on one farm may not beappropriate for another. Soil characteristics, crops,use of manures or other organic sources, the lay ofthe land, and closeness of surface water are a fewof the things that can influence what the best sitemanagement practices may be.

SITE CHARACTERISTICS

Looking at the soils on your farm can help youidentify whether you are at risk for polluting surfacewater or groundwater. Surface water, includingstreams and ponds, can become contaminated bywater flowing over the surface (surface runoff) andwater flowing through the soil. Surface runoff mostoften occurs when the soil surface has a high claycontent so that rainfall tends to collect on the sur-face rather than move into the soil. In sandy soils,surface runoff can also occur when the soil surfaceforms crusts. Surface runoff may carry eroded sedi-ments as well as excess nutrients. Using cover cropsand leaving crop residues can help reduce surfacerunoff. There is a higher risk of runoff in fieldswith steeper slopes. Traffic patterns in the field cancreate soil compaction that promotes surface run-off. Restrictive soil layers or bedrock that stop thedownward movement of water can cause water toflow through the upper soil layers into nearby streamsand ponds. This water flow can carry excess nutri-ents, such as nitrate or phosphorus, into these sur-face water bodies. Buffers are areas near water that are either leftin a natural state or carefully managed to keep veg-etation. Buffers can be either grassed or wooded

7

NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT FACTS:Improving Nutrient Management on Your Farm

areas. These are very important for reducing theamount of nutrients and sediments entering a streamor pond. Buffers help spread out and filter surfacerunoff. Spreading out the surface runoff allows achance for surface runoff to infiltrate into the soilsrather than move directly into the stream. Most sedi-ments are trapped by vegetation in the buffer and theplants can use the excess nutrients. Plants growingin buffer zones can also take up nitrogen and phos-phorus from water flowing in the soil. Research isshowing that the slope of the buffer as well as itswidth is important for protection of surface water.Buffers work best when they have slopes less than15% or, 15 feet of drop in 100 feet. If the bufferslope is greater than 15% then a wider buffer isneeded to protect the surface water. Groundwater pollution is more common in sandysoils, particularly where the water table is shallow(less than 10 feet). Water moves quickly throughsandy soils and the soils have little ability to retainnutrients. But, groundwater contamination can alsooccur anywhere excessive nutrients are applied nextto wells, sinkholes, or other areas with direct con-nections to groundwater. Buffers around these typesof areas are the best method for protecting ground-water.

NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT

A number of practices can be used to make surethe nutrients needed for realistic yield goals are ap-plied to the site. The first and maybe most impor-tant is regular soil testing to determine to nutrientstatus of the soil. Soil testing allows fertilizer rec-ommendation to be tailored to your field and crop.In order to get good results from the soil tests, fieldsshould be sampled using Cooperative ExtensionService (CES) guidelines found in Soil Testing(Leaflet No. 99). These guidelines show you howto take many small samples in fields with fairly uni-form soils and mix them to obtain one sample perfield or soil type. For a sample to represent theconditions in a field, it is important to take manysmall subsamples to create a sample that is repre-sentative of the entire area. Soils have a lot of varia-

8

tion and one sample from a field could give youmisleading results. A program of regular soil testing can help youidentify nutrient trends in your soils. Yearly testingis especially important in sandier soils. These soilsare less buffered and have less capacity to hold nu-trients. For the nutrient recommendations for nitrogen tobe accurate, you should indicate a yield goal foryour crop that is achievable. Realistic yield goalsare most accurate when based on average yields fromyour farm for the last five years or more. This typeof average will give you a good idea of what yourfield or farm can produce with different weatherconditions. Although adding extra nitrogen can of-ten increase yields, there is a limit to what certainsites and soils can produce. Continuing to add ni-trogen above the recommended level can bring di-minished returns for the amount of money spent. Toomuch nitrogen can decrease yields or make crops,like forages, dangerous for animal consumption bycreating high concentrations of nitrates. Crop rec-ommendations are based on field research that showsan optimal point for nitrogen addition. In this case,most of the nitrogen fertilizer is used by the plants,decreasing the potential loss to ground water. The full amount of fertilizer recommended basedon soil testing should not be used if you are usingmanures, legumes, or other organic sources of fer-tilizers. The amount of nutrients supplied by theseorganic sources should be deducted from the rec-ommended rates to determine how much additionalfertilizer is needed. This will prevent over appli-cation of nutrients. Table 1 gives the estimated re-sidual nitrogen from a good stand of legumes. Ex-tension bulletins or Circulars such as Developing aNutrient Management Plan for the Dairy Farm (Cir-cular 819-16) indicates how to calculate manurenutrient credits. Use of these nutrient credits canalso increase profitability by reducing fertilizercosts.

Following soil test recommendations for limingis also important. Most nutrients are more readilyavailable to the plant at a soil pH range of 6.0 to7.0. Keeping the soil pH in the range from 5.5 to6.5 will promote efficient use of nitrogen, phospho-rus, potassium and calcium. Fertilizer should be applied at the recommendedrates based on soil test results using realistic yieldgoals and deducting the nutrient credits for othersources. Analysis of the plant tissue can help youdetermine if the fertilizer supplied adequate nutri-ents, or if nutrients were over applied. Plant tissueanalysis can also identify micronutrient deficienciesthat may be reducing yields and be used to make in-season adjustments of nutrient levels. The discussion above helps you focus on the bestway to determine the amount of nitrogen, phospho-rus, potassium and other nutrients your crops needfor realistic yields without over applying nutrientsthat can move into surface and ground water. Howyou apply fertilizer is also important, particularlyfor nitrogen losses. Under most conditions in Geor-gia, nitrogen fertilizers are converted fairly quicklyinto nitrate-nitrogen. Nitrate nitrogen is not held bythe soil. In our climate where rainfall is relativelyhigh, it moves through the soil into ground water orthrough shallow subsurface flow into surface water.This process is called leaching. Consequently, ni-trogen fertilizer should be applied when plants areactively growing and using it. Crops with heavynitrogen demands or those grown in sandy soils

Table 1. Estimated residual nitrogen provided bya good stand of legumes grown in rotation.*

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9

should receive split applications. This will reducenitrate-nitrogen leaching and provide a more evensupply of nitrogen for plant growth. In the CoastalPlain, where irrigation is used extensively,fertigation can be a cost-effective and environmen-tally safe way of supplying nitrogen and potassium. Regardless of the application method, calibra-tion of your equipment is critical. Equipment cali-bration includes measuring the application rate anddetermining the spread pattern. Spread patterns thatare uneven can create areas with too little fertilizerthat can reduce yields, and areas with too much fer-tilizer that can become a potential pollution source.Information such as Extension Circular 825 – Cali-bration of Manure Spreader Including Swath Widthcan be used to calibrate manure spreaders or dryfertilizer spreaders.

ORGANIC SOURCES OF FERTILITY

Using organic sources of nutrients can have manybenefits. First, as a fertilizer, the nutrients in or-ganic matter are released over time. This can pro-vide a more constant nutrient source for the plantsand reduce the likelihood of excess nutrients mov-ing into ground or surface water. Second, organicmatter itself can improve soil tilth. Better soil tilthcan increase the amount of water that moves into thesoil and reduce erosion. The additional organicmatter can also hold more water in the soil and de-crease droughtiness. Third, organic sources usu-ally contain many of the micronutrients crops needfor maximum yield. Some studies indicate improvedyields and pest resistance in fields with higher or-ganic matter. Use of organic sources can decreasethe costs for fertilizer, improving your profitability. The first step in adding organic matter to the soilis using all available on-farm sources. This includesthe use of cover crops, green manures, and animalmanures. Cover crops are grown in the winter andtilled in the spring. These crops decease erosionand add organic matter to the soil. Common covercrops in Georgia are rye and winter wheat. Greenmanures are legumes that are grown in the winterand killed in the spring to increase the organic mat-ter content of the soil and supply nitrogen. Somegreen manures used in Georgia are vetch and crim-son clover. The nitrogen supplied by legumes should

be subtracted from the total amount of nitrogen neededfor your crop. There are other sources of organic matter thatcan be beneficial. Composts are good sources oforganic material. Biosolids are a good source ofboth organic matter and a slow release nitrogen fer-tilizer. When properly applied, biosolids can pro-vide the benefits of organic matter and nutrients aswell as lower fertilizer costs. Cotton gin trash isanother off-farm organic material that can add or-ganic matter and nutrients. There are also by-prod-ucts from food processing, textiles or other indus-tries that can supply some organic matter and nutri-ents. These are also by-products. These by-prod-ucts should be tested for safety and value before useon the farm. Most suppliers of these by-productsshould be able to show you that the product is nothazardous, does not present growth problems, andhas low metal content. In addition, they should tellyou the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potas-sium supplied by the by-product. The most common source of organic matter isanimal manures, including poultry litter. Animalwastes are a good source of nitrogen, phosphorus,and potassium. They also contain many essentialmicronutrients and can be an important componentof your fertilizer program. Although manures are agood source of nutrients, the often do not supply nu-trients in the same amounts that crops need. Animalmanures are typically high in phosphorus comparedto the amount of nitrogen needed for crops, so theyare excellent for building phosphorus fertility in thesoil. But if they are applied to meet the nitrogenneeds of the crop, phosphorus is often over-applied.Over time, excess phosphorus can build up in thesoil. This excess phosphorus can then move intonearby water and create pollution. Phosphorus canalso be moved from manures that are surface ap-plied into surface water by rainfall. Animal manures vary widely in nutrient content.The amount of nitrogen and other nutrients presentin the manure depends on the type of animal, thefeed used, how old the manure is, how it was stored,and the waste handling facilities. The best way toknow what nutrients the manure can supply is to havethe manure tested at a laboratory on a regular basis. The amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potas-sium the manure supplies should be subtracted from

10

the crop requirement. Over-application of manurescan create water pollution problems and will notincrease yields.

RECORD KEEPING

Record keeping is a vital part of farming, but itis often hard to find the time. Although there alwaysseems to be something else more important, goodrecord keeping will allow you to manage your re-sources more efficiently and help keep your opera-tion profitable. You should be able to develop aconvenient system of notebooks, charts or calendarsfor making notes that can then be systematicallytransferred to summary sheets for each field. Thistype of system can minimize the time spent on recordkeeping. Good records include maps or aerial photographsof your farm with all fields marked, crops grown,soil test results for each field, records of fertilizer,manures or other soil amendment applications oneach field, plant tissue results, and yields. Manyfarmers also make notes on weather and pesticideor herbicide applications. These types of field his-tories should help you make better management de-cisions.

A nutrient management plan is the best tool youcan use for minimizing your fertilizer costs and pro-tecting the environment. An important part of anynutrient management plan is a nutrient budget. Thenutrient budget identifies the amount of fertilizerneeded from realistic yield goals and soil test re-sults, then subtracts the amount of fertilizer given bylegumes, manures, or other sources, and finallysupplement the needed nutrients with commercialfertilizer. There are worksheets and computer programsavailable to help you with a nutrient budget. Thenutrient management plan also includes the plannedcrop rotations, how much fertilizer and/or manureshould be applied to each field, how manures andfertilizers should be stored, recommended methodsof timing of nutrient application, and the locationsof areas on the farm that might be particularly sus-ceptible to pollution. These plans should be re-viewed every year to see if modifications areneeded.

NOTES:

11

GLOSSARY:Nutrient Management

Algae: A plant that lives in water. Theses plants contain chlorophyll but lack true stems, leaves, or roots. Algaeimparts a green color to water..

Biosolids: Municipal sludge that has been treated to stabilize organic matter and reduce pathogens.

Buffers: A strip of uncultivated land between farmed land and a sensitive area. Buffers can be grassed but oftencontain shrubs or trees. These are used to spread out water and sediments leaving the farmed area and help removeexcess nutrients or other farm chemicals.

CES Guidelines: Cooperative Extension Service guidelines.

Concentrations: The amount of an element or compound found in a specified amount of another substance. Forexample, nitrate-nitrogen in water is expressed as milligrams per liter (mg/L) or parts per million (ppm). In solids,concentrations are expressed as milligrams per kilograms (mg/kg) or ppm.

Cover crop: Crops grown for ground cover to reduce erosion and add organic matter.

Crop residues: Leaves, stems or other plant parts left on the soil surface.

Dormant phase: An inactive phase for a plant where nutrient uptake and growth are slow or non-existent.

Equipment calibration: Checking or standardizing equipment so that application rates are even and at a knownamount.

Eutrophication: The process by which increasing nutrients in a water body promotes plant over animal life.

Fertigation: Fertilizing crops through the irrigation system.

Green manures: Legume crops that are grown to supply nitrogen and organic matter.

Hardpan: A soil layer that limits root growth or water movement.

Nutrient credits: An addition of nutrients from legumes, animal manures or other sources that should be subtractedfrom the total amount of fertilizer needed.

Nutrient Management Plan: A plan for managing animal wastes to maxinmize economic benefit for the farmer andprotection of the environment.

Restrictive layer: A soil layer that limits root growth or water movement.

Slope: Change in elevation across a horizontal distance. (Example: 2:1, first number is the horizontal distance and thesecond number is the vertical distance.)

Soil texture: Classes of soil with differing proportions of sand, silt, and clay. For example: loams, silts, sandy clayloams.

Surface runoff: Rainfall that moves over the soil surface into water.

Water bodies: All surface water, including streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes.

Water table: The level in the ground where the soil or bedrock is saturated; the upper surface of groundwater.

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ACTION PLAN:An action plan is a tool that allows you to take the needed steps to modify the areas of concern as identified byyour assessment. The outline provided below is a basic guide for developing an action plan. Feel free toexpand your plan if you feel the need for detail or additional areas not included. Consult the list of referencesat the end of this publication if additional assistance is needed to develop a detailed action plan.

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PUBLICATIONS:

University of Georgia, Cooperative Extension Athens, Georgia 30602

• Your Drinking Water: Nitrates, Circular 819-5

• Animal Waste and the Environment, Circular 827

• Georgia’s Agricultural Waste Regulations, Circular 819-11

• Developing a Nutrient Management Plan for the Dairy Farm, Circular 819-16

• Calibration of Manure Spreader Including Swath Width, Circular 825

• Soil Saving Practices – Sediment Erosion Control, Bulletin 916-6

• Soil Saving Practices – Conservation Tillage, Bulletin 916

State Soil and Water Conservation CommissionP.O. Box 8024Athens, Georgia 30603

• Agricultural Best Management Practices for Protecting Water in Georgia

• Planning Considerations for Animal Waste Systems for Protecting Water Quality in Georgia

17

NOTES:

18

NOTES:

19

The publication of this document was financed in part through a grant from the U.S. Environment Protection Agency underprovisions of Section 319(h) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, and with the cooperation of the Environ-mental Protection Division and the Pollution Prevention Assistance Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources,and the State Soil and Water Conservation Commission.

GEORGIA FARM *A*SYST TEAM MEMBERS:Mark Risse, Ph.D., Public Service Assistance, Georgia Cooperative Extension/Pollution Prevention Assistance DivisionWilliam Segars, Ph.D., Extension Agronomist & Water Quality Coordinator, Georgia Cooperative Extension Tina Williams, Program Specialist, Farm *A*Syst Coordinator, Georgia Cooperative Extension/Pollution PreventionAssistance Division

TECHNICAL REVIEWERSHolli Kuykendall, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service; Frank Henning, Georgia Cooperative Extension Service;Wayne Adkins, University of Georgia; Richard Lowrance, USDA-Southeastern Water Research Lab; Larry Newton, AnimalScience Research, University of Georgia; Bill Segars, Georgia Cooperative Extension; and Steve Blackburn, US EnvironmentalProtection Agency.While the technical reviewers provided guidance in copy revisions and assisted in assuring accuracy of content, the viewsexpressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the reviewers.

The Pollution Prevention Assistance Division (P2AD) and all technical sources referenced in the assessment make no warrantyor representation, expressed or implied, with respect to the information contained in this assessment. The use of any informa-tion, apparatus, method, or process mentioned in this assessment may not infringe upon privately owned rights. P2AD assumesno liability with respect to use of, or damages resulting from use of any information, apparatus, method, or process disclosedin this assessment. Mention of trade names of commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation foruse.

61-2511 nitelluB Reviewed June 2012

The Georgia Farm Assessment System is a cooperative projectof the Pollution Prevention Assistance Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources,

the University of Georgia, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Cooperative Extension,the State Soil and Water Conservation Commission and the

USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The University of Georgia and Ft. Valley State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and counties of the state cooperating. Cooperative Extension, the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, offers educational programs, assistance and materials to all people without regard to race, color, national origin, age, gender or disability.

The University of Georgia is committed to principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action.