In 2015 INVC (Parke and Vermillion Counties) enrolled 64 fields in the INField Advantage Program. Out of 35 local groups, which covered about two-thirds of the state, INVC had the largest number of fields!
INFA is available to Indiana producers at no charge through the support of the Indiana Conservation Partnership and Indiana Corn and Soybean checkoff. The INFA program allows participants access to a variety of tools to benefit their bottom line and the environment by improving nitrogen management. These tools help assess nitrogen status and identify efficiency and profit. Producers are not restricted on tillage, rotation, nitrogen form, timing or rate. They may enroll up to four fields, of 20 to 80 acres each and they can also enroll up to two fields in Replicated Strip Trials.
Aerial photography is shot in late summer and then stalk samples are collected by SWCD, ISDA and NRCS personnel after black layer but before the field is harvested. The stalk samples are sent to A&L Labs in Fort Wayne where they are processed and tested. The results are then analyzed and put into report form with the imagery and stalk test results from each field. The reports are put into binders which are distributed to participants at the Winter Grower Meetings. Any field with a Replicated Strip Trial will also have an RST report. A final regional report, with each field assigned an anonymous ID number, is also be available to each grower.
During the 2015 Winter Grower meeting which was held in Cayuga, 14 of our participants were able to discuss the results of the nitrogen study with NRCS, ISDA and local CCAs. Must information was exchanged between the participants and agency staff. At times there seemed to be more questions than answers, but the information exchanged enables producers to make adjustments to their nitrogen use, saving money and lessening the nutrient runoff into the watershed.