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Protect your fall nitrogen investment without cutting corners
To apply, or not to apply nitrogen this fall — that may be the question as harvest wraps up and planning begins for next year’s corn crop.
With 2026 corn prices projected to be under continued pressure, every decision growers make this fall will matter more than ever. They face the challenge of protecting margins while still pushing for strong yields.
“Planning for a crop year with lower commodity prices doesn’t mean cutting corners,” said Heather Vosburgh, nutrient maximizer account manager with Corteva Agriscience. “We still need to optimize bushels using practices and products with track records of delivering strong yields and the largest ROI."
The journey to strong yields begins this fall with a nitrogen strategy designed to spread workload, manage risk and set up next year’s crop for success.
The case for fall application
For many growers, fall is the most practical time to apply a large portion of their nitrogen, whether in the form of anhydrous ammonia or livestock manure.
“Fall ammonia can be a good practice in the right soils and the right environments,” Vosburgh said. “It makes a lot of sense in geographies with good nitrogen-holding capacity and where soils freeze up in the winter. Applying in the fall spreads out the workload and gets one more thing off the spring to-do list.”
That workload management can be a major advantage, especially after several seasons of compressed planting windows and wet springs.
“Spring conditions are always an unknown,” Vosburgh said. “A late winter or wet spring can put you in a real time crunch to apply nitrogen, get the seed in the ground and make herbicide applications. And we know that hitting the optimum planting window for your location — typically mid-April through early May — gives us the best opportunity to maximize yield potential.”
Agronomic and operational benefits
Applying nitrogen in the fall also reduces the risk of compaction that can come with running heavy equipment across wet spring fields.
“Fall is often drier, which reduces the potential for soil compaction, so we have a seedbed that allows more consistent emergence in the spring,” Vosburgh noted. “That sets the stage for a more uniform stand and better yield potential.”
Many growers also use fall application as the foundation for a split-nitrogen strategy — applying the majority of their nitrogen in the fall and supplementing with a smaller application near planting or with the first herbicide pass.
“This approach gives you protected nitrogen deeper in the soil plus a little bit near the seedling that’s readily available to get the crop off to a great start,” she said. “You’re essentially spreading out your risk while still getting the workload benefit of fall application.”
A better value, per pound of nitrogen
Anhydrous ammonia also is a more economical source on a price per pound of nitrogen basis compared to other commercial sources. In late September, this is how the average prices of nitrogen fertilizer sources stacked up.1
- Anhydrous ammonia: $0.47/pound of nitrogen
- Urea: $0.69/pound of nitrogen
- UAN28: $0.74/pound of nitrogen
- UAN32: $0.75/pound of nitrogen
Protecting the investment
Because fall-applied nitrogen is placed months before the corn plant needs it, protecting it is a critical risk-management consideration. The reason is that fall-applied nitrogen sits in the soil for months before the corn plant begins to use it, making it extremely vulnerable to loss.
“When we apply nitrogen in the fall, we want to make sure soil temperatures are at or below 50 degrees and trending downward,” Vosburgh said. “Cold temperatures slow down bacterial activity which means nitrogen stays in the stable ammonium form while they are inactive. As temperatures rise above 50 degrees, bacterial activity and the associated risk of loss increases.
“Having N-Serve or Instinct in the soil extends the window that the bacterial activity is suppressed throughout the spring warm-up months. This reduces the risk of nitrogen loss that peaks in April, May and June due to increased moisture and temperatures.”
A product like N-Serve® nitrogen stabilizer provides roughly 90 days of protection on days when soil temperatures are 50 to 70 degrees, which means most of its benefit occurs in early spring when temperatures rise and nitrification — and nitrogen loss — accelerates.
“Nitrogen is one of the largest investments on the corn acre,” Vosburgh said. “Especially going into 2026, when commodity prices may not be as favorable, we need to protect those dollars and get every bushel we can out of each field.
“We need to invest wisely, starting with a sound fall nitrogen program — and protect that nitrogen with proven tools like N-Serve nitrogen stabilizer to set up the crop for success,” she concluded. “Protecting your nitrogen is protecting your ROI.”
1Quinn, R. 2025. DTN Retail Fertilizer Trends. https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/crops/article/2025/09/24/dap-continues-lead-fertilizer-prices.
Instinct NXTGEN® is not registered for sale or use in all states. Contact your state pesticide regulatory agency to determine if a product is registered for sale or use in your state. Do not fall-apply anhydrous ammonia south of Highway 16 in the state of Illinois. Always read and follow label directions.
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