New tool could help farmers limit nitrate leaching

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A new nitrogen insurance tool could help farmers boost profitability and improve environmental health, according to researchers at Purdue University.

The tool is designed to solve problems related to nitrate leaching, said German Mandrini, a scientist at Purdue.

Mandrini has worked alongside professor Ignacio Ciampitti and 10 other co-authors, who have published their findings in Nature Communications Earth and Environment.

“With current low crop prices, farmers are very interested in reducing input costs,” Ciampitti said. “This insurance tool allows them to manage the financial risk of reducing nitrogen rates, providing a safety net against the uncertainty of seasonal conditions. In the end, it improves their margins when they need it most.”

Choosing the right nitrogen rate for a field is a complex challenge because it depends on unpredictable weather, crop and soil conditions, Mandrini said.

In the Midwest, some farmers apply extra nitrogen in fear of their crop not performing well without it. Others suspect that the recommendations are too low for their specific farm.

The proposed program is designed to protect both groups.

“That would be where the insurance kicks in,” Ciampitti said. “The insurance will cover those farmers.”

The new study explores what could happen if farmers applied the recommended nitrogen rates to their fields. Then if their crops earned them less than usual, the insurance would repay them.

The researchers analyzed the economics of such a system, using a database covering more than 4,000 cornfields, incorporating 30 years of weather data and almost three dozen fertilizer application rates.

As proposed, the nitrogen insurance program works best for farmers who apply at least 36 pounds per acre above the science-based recommendations. On average, farmers will save 52 pounds per acre of nitrogen.

“We set it up so that the farmer never loses money,” Mandrini said. “We consider the premium paid when calculating the payout, making sure that the nitrogen savings and the payouts are always higher than the premium. When we talk about this with farmers, they get it. They are very interested.”

Weather and other factors could impact the insurance payouts. As with car insurance, there is no payout if there is no accident.

“We know there are accidents. That’s why we have car insurance. This is the same. In some years or in some fields, the prescribed recommendation is not the best. The nitrogen insurance will protect from that risk,” Mandrini said.

The concept has already generated interest from a variety of organizations, Ciampitti said.

The tool is patent pending.