NRCS Practice Standard: Nutrient Management (590)

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NRCS Practice Standard: Nutrient Management (590)

About the Company:

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s primary private lands conservation agency. The NRCS helps producers protect and conserve natural resources on private lands through voluntary conservation programs. Through Practice Standards and technical guides, the NRCS provides information about the conservation, energy resources, and provides personalized advice to individual producers.

The NRCS’ Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides technical and financial assistance to producers as they implement NRCS Conservation Practice Standards.

Technical guides used in each field office are localized so that they apply specifically to the geographic area for which they are prepared. Thus, while national guidelines have been provided as a framework for each standard, each state has adopted and modified the conservation practice standards to suit their individual landscape.

To find a local NRCS Service center click here.

To find the specific guideline for each state click here.

About the Solution:

Nutrient Management (590)

Nutrient management is used to manage the rate, source, placement, and timing of plant nutrients and soil amendments while reducing environmental impacts.

Practice Information

Nutrient management may be used on any area of land where plant nutrients and soil amendments are applied. Nutrient management may be used to improve crop productivity and improve soil organic matter while reducing environmental impacts. Sources of nutrients include, but are not limited to, commercial fertilizers (including starter and in-furrow starter/pop-up fertilizer), animal manures, legume fixation credits, green manures, plant or crop residues, compost, organic by-products, municipal and industrial biosolids, wastewater, organic materials, estimated plant available soil nutrients, and irrigation water.

Nutrients are managed based on the 4Rs of nutrient stewardship—apply the right nutrient source at the right rate at the right time in the right place—to improve nutrient use efficiency by the crop and to reduce nutrient losses to surface water and groundwater and to the atmosphere.

Operation and maintenance requirements include that nutrient management plans must be reviewed and revised, as needed, with each soil test cycle, adjusting the nutrient management plans to accommodate changes in manure management, volume or analysis, or plant and crop management. Records must be maintained for at least 5 years to document plan implementation.

All nutrient management activities must adhere to national, State and local water quality regulations.

Common Associated Practices

NRCS Conservation Practice Standard Nutrient Management (Code 590) is commonly applied with other conservation practices such as:

  • Residue and Tillage Management, No Till (Code 329)
  • Residue and Tillage Management, Reduced Till (Code 345)
  • Conservation Crop Rotation (Code 328)
  • Filter Strip (Code 393)
  • Cover Crop (Code 340)
  • Contour Farming (Code 330)
  • Contour Buffer Strips (Code 332)


  • To view the full NRCS standard for Nutrient Management please click here.

    Natural Resources Conservation Service, US Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Ave., S.W. Washington, DC United States 1-833-ONE-USDA Visit Company Website

    Solution Type

    • General Support and Other

    Vendor

    • Others

    Product

    • Concentrated Nutrients

    Problem

    • Nitrogen
    • Phosphorous

    To view additional information about this vendor, click below.

    Solution Strengths, Weaknesses and Critical Indicators

    NOTE: There are multiple technologies that are used as part of integrated manure management systems and yet are not manure management types on their own. The impact of these technologies on their own would be minimal or very difficult to quantify.

    General Support & Other:

    • Can be an integral part of many manure management systems
    • Most projects have at least some equipment that supports operations of the main technology
    • This technology is not evaluated on its own, the NEAT Matrix for this technology is neutral unless utilized with other technologies.

    Newtrient Comments/Opinions:

    Newtrient is using the USDA-NRCS conservation practice standards as tools to assist dairy producers in understanding the standards and how they can be used to address resources concerns.

    To establish a Practice Standard a system or practice must be thoroughly vetted, approved, and standardized by the USDA at the federal and state level. These conservation practices have been developed to address various environmental resource concerns. Newtrient has developed a 9-point scoring process for ranking additives, practices, services, and technologies for the dairy industry. Recognizing the rigorous approval procedure used during the development of the NRCS Practice Standards, many of them score very highly and are worthy of consideration on any dairy where they apply.

    The information provided here is a summary of the selected conservation practices. For up to date and detailed information related to the full Practice Standards, please see the USDA NRCS website, linked above.

    Newtrient 9-Point Scoring Rating

    View the Scoring Page

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