Paullina, Iowa — A Paullina research farm is one of four Iowa State University research farms that was part of a study of the effect of nitrogen fertilizer on farm soil.
The report generated from that study shows applying nitrogen fertilizer at certain levels to corn and soybeans helps maintain carbon in the soil, bringing a range of environmental and production benefits. I-S-U agronomy professor Michael Castellano co-authored the study and says there’s long been disagreement among scientists and farmers over fertilizer’s impact on the soil.
In addition to the farm at Sutherland, researchers collected soil samples from three other I-S-U research farms at Ames, Chariton and Crawfordsville in 1999 and 2000 and then again 15 years later after each site received regimented applications of nitrogen fertilizer.
The test compared soil health for various levels of fertilizer applications — be it too low, too high or at optimum levels.
Funding for the study came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture.
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