This effort, launched in 2020, and On-Farm Experiments to test N management strategies started in 2021. An average of 30 experiments per year were conducted in the network. The project connects corn and wheat producers across Nebraska with access to cutting-edge technologies through on-farm research. The goal is for producers to get hands-on experience with new technologies to manage nitrogen more efficiently and evaluate how these technologies will work on their operation. This project is possible through a $1.2 million On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS).
In 2024, the project continued supporting farmers to test N management technologies. Results will be presented in future NOFRN Winter Meetings in 2025. All previous results can be found in yearly books published by the Network.
Farmers could test four different technologies: crop model-based tools to manage N, crop canopy sensing for Corn N management, nitrification inhibitors for corn and split applications, Crop Canopy Sensing, and Aerial Imagery for Wheat N Management.