Imperial, Neb. –  A free luncheon and meeting will be held at 10 a.m. on Jan. 10 at the Nutrien building at the Chase County Fairgrounds to inform farmers of state payments available for reducing nitrogen applications, and technologies and products to help them achieve the reductions.

Companies that specialize in nitrogen management will present information at the meeting hosted by the Upper Republican Natural Resources District (URNRD). They include: Sentinel Fertigation; Sound Agriculture; Pivot Bio; Planet Earth Agronomy; and Ledall Seed. Please RSVP by Jan. 3 to natejenkins@urnrd.org if you plan to attend.

State payments of up to $15/acre will be made to eligible corn, potato or sugar beet farmers who reduce their nitrogen applications by the lesser of 40 pounds per acre or 15% in 2025 compared to their baseline application rate from the last few years. The URNRD will prioritize applications from farmers who plan to use nitrogen management technologies, products and/or biological approaches such as those that will be described at the meeting.

Land in what are known as phase II – phase IV groundwater quality areas within the URNRD will be eligible for the $15/acre payments. Phase II – phase IV areas are those where nitrogen levels in groundwater have been to shown to be at least 5 milligrams per liter. Irrigated phase I areas – those where nitrogen levels in groundwater are less than 5 milligrams per liter – are eligible for a $12/acre payment. A map is available on the homepage of the URNRD website, www.urnrd.org, that shows what areas of the district’s three counties are in each phase. You can also contact Julia Strand at the URNRD office, 308-888-1934, to find out what phase designation cropland is in.

Applications for the program are available below, as is the form for farmers to report their 2022-2024 nitrogen applications that establish the baseline from which their must be a reduction from in 2025 to qualify for the payment. Applications and forms are to be submitted to the URNRD, one application and form per field is required, and the deadline to apply is Jan. 15.

 Find the application on the DNR website by following the link below: 

https://dnr.nebraska.gov/lb-1368-nitrogen-reduction-incentive-program

Below is the crop and nitrogen reporting form, and a link to a larger map of the groundwater quality phase areas. Those areas in dark green, orange and red are in Phase II - Phase IV so quailfy for the $15/acre payment :