Nitrogen in the field and environment

Food + Science

Have you ever thought about the connection between the food we eat, how we grow it, and the environment around it? Or even further afield, like does how we farm in Nebraska have an impact on life in the Gulf of Mexico? In this episode, we talk to Professor Harold van Es from Cornell University's School of Integrative Plant Science, Soil and Crop Sciences Section about how we can better manage the amount of nitrogen fertilizer to reduce runoff. This has the potential to prevent dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico that develop when nitrogen is in excess. Professor van Es and his colleagues developed ADAPT-N, a tool that allows a farmer to precisely apply only the amount of nitrogen needed, reducing excess nitrogen in the system. We also talk with a farmer, Robert Donald, who has been using ADAPT-N and how it affects his farming. In December 2017, Tulane University announced that ADAPT-N won its Tulane Nitrogen Reduction Challenge, aimed at preventing or reducing hypoxia, a lack of oxygen mainly caused by overgrowth of phytoplankton, in the Gulf of Mexico.