A new study shows that improving nitrogen use efficiency can create economic and climate benefits across U.S. corn production.
Kenny Avery, CEO of Advanced Agrilytics, says their research shows a reduction in nitrogen use can lead to greater ROI and more consistent yields.
“You think about a farmer, whether they’re in sub-Saharan Africa or whether they’re in the state of Iowa, they want to get the most out of every single resource they use on that farm,” Avery said. “And the reality is a lot of those resources do not end up in the plant.”
Advanced Agrilytics unveiled its new white paper at the 2025 Borlaug International Dialogue, titled “The Nitrogen Efficiency Breakthrough: How Digital Tools Cut Corn Nitrogen Emissions by 21% Without Sacrificing Yields.” The publication provides detailed findings from a field-based analysis of data from three growing seasons (2022-2024) across more than 750,000 acres.
Across those acres, the study found that inefficient use of nitrogen led to $60 million in lost revenue annually. The environmental impact of improved nitrogen use efficiency equated to removing 63,000 gasoline-powered cars from the road per year, or capturing the carbon sequestered by 4.5 million tree seedlings grown for 10 years.
Dr. Kess Berg, chief innovation officer for Advanced Agrilytics, says by proactively managing risk and tailoring nutrient applications to each microenvironment within a field, growers can reduce nitrogen loss while improving crop resilience.
“How do we get that crop ready for the next weather event? Too many times we wait until that weather event happens,” Berg said, “and then to try to mitigate that problem is a bigger effort.”
Avery says growers can utilize the TerraFraming platform to make precise decisions on nitrogen stabilizer applications in terms of rate, location, and timing.
Avery and Berg spoke to reporters during the 2025 Borlaug International Dialogue in Des Moines.
