It’s raining plenty now, but when it comes time to side dress nitrogen (N), rain may not be in the forecast. Ron Paulson, Federated agronomist at the Isanti location, calls Factor^®, a urease inhibitor, “a good insurance policy; if it doesn’t rain, you’ll still be protected.”

Factor protects the N in applications of urea or UAN for 14 days. “If you don’t use an inhibitor such as Factor, in 14 days you can lose up to 34% of the N [if it doesn’t rain],” said Paulson, adding that “half an inch of rain will incorporate the N” but the rain doesn’t always fall on time.  

In these days of low corn prices, maximizing corn yields can be a matter of minimizing the loss of nitrogen (N) due to volatilization. What’s lost into the air can’t be used by the crop.

The possibility for N loss due to volatility increases as soil temperatures rise. Factor is an environmentally sound option to help protect side-dress applications of UAN or urea against volatility.

Once the N is applied without an inhibitor, “you can’t go back,” said Paulson. Federated recommends urea impregnated with Factor.

Talk to your Federated Agronomist with any questions or to order Factor for your side dress applications.