Residual Nitrogen Content From Variable Rate Versus Uniform Rate Application of Fertilizers

A study by C. G. Walters et al. (2017) sought to document the correlation between rolling terrain, uniform rate, and variable rate fertilizer application with economic viability and nitrogen pollution in the production of Hard Red Spring Wheat in a field in Eastern Washington. The results of the study indicate that while uniform rate application is economically viable than variable rate technology, it is detrimental to the environment in the long run due to the soil's retention of up to 35% of Nitrogen. The researchers further examine ten terrain attributes in relation to wheat yield. This research is very relevant to environmental economics. It effectively measures the environmental impacts of alternative farming methods whose economic aims are varied. Uniform rate fertilizer application, for instance, produces heat with a high protein content that does well in the market. However, it results in high nitrogen residues in the soil. The target audience for this report includes agricultural economists, farmers, and environmental policymakers.

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Some of the questions that this report answers are: are there significant environmental impacts of the uncontrolled use of inorganic fertilizers? Is the alternative to uniform rate fertilizer application strike the right balance between yield and environmental preservation? Is protein content of wheat a significant marker of product quality or do wheat consumers look for residual mineral content? These questions are important because they engage the farmers to rethink about their long-term implications of high nitrogen content to the soil, water bodies, and the nitrogen cycle. The report also seeks to determine the most appropriate terrain attribute that would result in high yield of wheat without retaining significant proportions of Nitrogen in the environment. The researcher assumes that terrain attributes are important in determining residual Nitrogen content due to their effects on yield.

The major economic concept in the article is the protein content of wheat and how it determines its market performance. The environmental concern is the impact of high nitrogen residue in the soil as a result of the farmer's target: to increase protein concentration in the product. The terrain attribute is also an import environmental concept that weighs on both yield and nitrogen residue. Since it is possible to vary both environmental concepts - nitrogen residue and terrain attribute - the farmer can devise measures that would improve their yield while taking appropriate measures to preserve the environment.

Through the introduction, methodology, results analysis, and discussion, the article concludes that uniform rate application results in high yield of wheat as compared to variable rate application. Additionally, the study showed that terrain attributes harmonize the two contrasting agronomic methods. In the introduction, Walters et al. (2017) set the stage for their study. They give a detailed background of the agronomic effects on the environment with reference to relevant studies that are related to theirs. Their opening remarks notes that environmental preservation through the adoption of correct farming methods is a national government's efforts. This remark is an important environmental economics argument. In the methodology, the researchers develop three scientific equations that allow them to examine each of their variable and the overall effect to the study objective. In the first equation, they investigate the effect of available nitrogen and terrain attributes on yield, residual nitrogen, and protein. In the second equation, they undertake a spatial correlation analysis to determine the effects of differential elevation on the residual nitrogen. In other words, they measure the soil's nitrogen concentration at one place with reference to that at another point with a different elevation. Thirdly, the methodology involves the simulation of profit made through the reduction of residual nitrogen concentration. In the results analysis section, the researchers compare different equation parameters against total yield, the protein concentration of wheat, and nitrogen residue. Some of the equation parameters in the analysis include retrogressive analysis of other crop production from the wheat field and various topographical attributes. To examine the advantage of variable rate technology, the researchers consider whether it is a significant response to at least one of the equations described above and that it interacts with both terrain attribute and nitrogen concentration. Since the technology passes through this scrutiny, the study concludes that although variable rate application results in relatively lower yield that uniform rate technology, it is an appropriate method of nitrogen residue reduction.

Conclusion

The conclusion of the article partially addressed the questions I had before the summary report. For example, I have discovered that uncontrolled use of fertilizers with an aim of making the maximum profit is a destructive agronomic practice that should be avoided and regulated. Secondly, I have discovered that variable application of nitrogen fertilizers leaves minimal nitrogen residue to the environment and results in significant yields that are profitable in the market. However, considering the long-term economic effect of this practice indicates that it is the best option since it ensures that land remains productive. The question that the article did not address is whether consumers would prefer wheat with high protein content and low nitrogen residue or the vice versa.

Reference

Walters, C. G., Shumway, C. R., & Huggins, D. R. (2017). Impacts Of Terrain Attributes On Economics And The Environment: Costs Of Reducing Potential Nitrogen Pollution In Wheat Production. Agricultural Economics, 48(2), 143-152.