The Nitrogen Question: What Is Your Soil Really Telling You?

In this episode of Tramlines, host Tony Smith is joined by Jonathan Trotter and Lucy Cottingham from Agrii's Digital Technology Farms programme to tackle a long-debated question in precision farming: should growers feed the strongest parts of a crop or support the weaker areas?

Drawing on field-scale trials from Scotland and Lincolnshire, they explore how soil data, yield mapping, satellite imagery and variable-rate nitrogen applications are helping farmers make more informed decisions.

The discussion reveals that understanding field variability may be far more important than following any single nitrogen strategy.

Summary:

• Agrii's Innovations team has evaluated around 70 agricultural technologies over four years, with only a small number proving valuable enough to progress into practical farm testing.  
• The Digital Technology Farms network uses growers’ farms across the UK to test technologies in field-scale farming conditions, helping assess both agronomic performance and economic return. 
• Trials at Brotherton Farms compared different variable-rate nitrogen strategies and found that understanding soil variability, field history and yield potential is more important than simply choosing to "feed the good" or "feed the bad." 
• By combining yield maps, soil zoning, satellite imagery and drone data, the team identified significant differences in field performance, with gross margin variations of around £260/ha between nitrogen strategies. 
• The strongest message for growers is that precision nitrogen management should be driven by a thorough understanding of soils and field variability, enabling the right strategy to be applied in the right area at the right time. 

CPD points:

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