Contributed by Mitiku Mamo, UNL Extension Educator, Crops and Water
As you have all noticed, spring precipitation to date has been a lot less than the average for our area. For example, at Haskell Ag Lab in Concord, NE we received less than half an inch for the entire month of April compared to the monthly average of 3.3 inches. While this below average spring precipitation have provided ideal weather conditions for pre-plant fertilizer application and planting, dry soil after application of urea or UAN means that the fertilizer sits on top of the soil and is subject to nitrogen loss due to volatilization.