Cropsmith is a nitrogen management company based on the need to take soil nitrogen supply into account when making nitrogen recommendations.

The delta yield concept simply looks at the change in yield as you apply nitrogen fertilizer. Implicit in this concept is that the soil provides a certain amount of nitrogen and as you apply fertilizer N you will get different levels of yield increase above what the soil provides. Calculating delta yield for an area of a field requires a simple rate study. Rates in the study should include zero, your current nitrogen rate and rates that are higher and lower than your current rate by at least 40 lbs of N. Using the results to create a nitrogen response curve you can calculate the most economical N rate. For each soil that would have a different response to N you would need to repeat he response study to determine the optimum N rate for the soil. Using the information generated by this type of study you can start to improve how economically you can apply nitrogen.

The Illinois Soil Nitrogen Test is a measure of a fraction of soil organic matter. Measuring this part of organic matter gives us an indication of potential release of nitrogen from the soil. Using values from this soil test and local calibration data from on-farm plots with similar cropping systems, we can predict the response for those areas of the field. The benefit of being able to use a soil test to predict response to nitrogen is that is easier than doing multiple response studies across all your fields. These maps that are created using ISNT can be used for many years because the test is measuring a property of the soil that can only be changed slowly over time.

Cropsmith can help you get started using ISNT to learn more about the nitrogen mineralization capacity of the soils you farm.

We can guide you to where you are going to get the most benefit for your nitrogen dollars. We often will be able to reduce your nitrogen bill.

We can collect the samples, run the analysis and work with you on making recommendations for your fields. We can also set up and analyze response studies on your farm to better understand the benefits of variable rate nitrogen management with ISNT.

Tim Smith

Smith is the managing agronomist for Cropsmith. Previously he was a visiting research specialist in soil fertility at the University of Illinois. He was working with Dr. Richard Mulvaney and Dr. Saeed Khan on research related to improving nitrogen use efficiency in crop production. The primary emphasis is on development of the ISNT to improve nitrogen recommendations for corn, especially as related to site-specific application. He has extensive knowledge of the ISNT laboratory procedure. Smith has worked with Dr. Tim Ellsworth and Dr. Charlie Boast on the spatial and temporal aspect of the ISNT and sampling to improve map quality. He has developed Cropsmith's independent lab for the analysis of soil samples using the ISNT procedure.

Smith has experience as a marketing information manager for a farmer owned cooperative with over eight million dollars in sales. He has developed precision application programs that benefited farmers by reducing fertilizer usage and increasing yields.

Smith is a Certified Crop Adviser and Certified Professional Agronomist and has 20 years of experience working directly with producers on fertility related issues. He has wide-ranging knowledge of variable rate application equipment and software.

Jonathan Norvell

Norvell provides farm management and economic analysis expertise to the Cropsmith team.

Norvell is also a farm manager and agricultural economist at the University of Illinois. He has held this position since 1989. His primary responsibility is the management of farm properties that have been endowed to the University of Illinois. Norvell’s current research interests include the utilization of GIS and varied rate fertilizer in farm management, biotech crop economics and the adoption of hybrids and varieties. His teaching experience includes co-teaching a professional farm management course in the Department of Agricultural Economics from 1989-1993. In 1994, he revised and taught the introductory farm management course.

Norvell holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His area of specialization is Agribusiness Management.

Norvell is an active member of the American Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA). He received the Society's Accredited Farm Manager (AFM) designation in 1993. He became a certified instructor for the ASFMRA in 1994 and co-taught the Advanced Farm Management course. He has served on many committees and from 1998-2004 he served as Secretary-Treasurer and Board member for the Illinois Chapter.

Quentin Rund

Rund coordinates the mapping and data analysis for Cropsmith. Rund is an experienced GIS analyst and trainer of ArcView GIS and ArcMap software from ESRI. He works with crop researchers, consultants, and farmers on experimental design and analysis. Rund works with farm managers and appraisers creating farm maps and soil productivity index maps for farm properties. He works with businesses on general data analysis, sales tracking, equipment logistics and customer/market studies.

Rund also manages the Cropsmith website design and development including the file exchange and other database driven elements.

Rund received his B.S. (1988) in Agriculture Science from the University of Illinois and M.S. (1996) in Technology Training and Development from Eastern Illinois University.

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