Dan Quinn is looking for the brave, the inquisitive, the few. No, he’s not a recruiter for the Marines. Quinn is a Purdue Extension corn specialist. He’s helping direct a study Purdue is a part of, designed and backed by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. It’s called the On-farm Precision Nitrogen Management Project.

This effort will test a new precise nitrogen management techniques in the real world, Quinn says. The goal is to improve corn management long term and reduce nitrogen loss using remote-sensing calibration, utilizing strips that have received specific rates of nitrogen. The same pilot project is underway in Minnesota through the University of Minnesota.

Quinn is looking for farmers who want to participate. You need a field of at least 30 acres; autoguidance nitrogen fertilizer application equipment using a signal source; a combine with a GPS-enabled yield monitor; a variable-rate, prescription-enabled nitrogen applicator for preplant and sidedress applications; and access to high-clearance equipment for sidedressing nitrogen in V10 to V12 corn.

If you participate, you will receive $1,000 per field, plus compensation for potential yield losses due to treatments after the season ends. To receive payment, you must be eligible for the USDA Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

As-planted and as-applied maps and harvest data will be needed, plus historical yield data. Researchers will collect plant and soil samples. All data collected during the study will first be shared with you, Quinn says. If a crop consultant participates, he or she can receive up to $500 per field.

If you’re interested, call Quinn at 765-494-5314 or email [email protected].