St. Paul, Minn.-A new tool from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture can help farmers make better fertilizer application decisions this fall with a Web site that provides access to a 6-inch soil temperature network map. The Web site, at http://gis.mda.state.mn.us/maps/csgsoil.htm, allows users to see marker locations where soil temperatures are being monitored. By clicking on one of the markers in the map, users will see a graph of the past week’s 6-inch soil temperatures and can use the information to determine if the trend is downward, and also note temperatures of 50 degrees or lower for correct anhydrous ammonia application or fall application of urea. So far, soil temperature information collected via cooperative stream gauge locations is available for southern and central Minnesota, but new sites will be added. Actually, the soil temperature data is piggy-backing on stream gauging stations already installed across the state. The natural resources department is upgrading these stations, according to fertilizer management advisor Russell Derickson, and this allows for extra channels to be installed for soil temperatures. “We install our soil monitoring equipment next to their stream gauging station,” Derickson said. Six soil probes were installed in 2009, and another four were added in 2010. The information is all web-based so no one has to drive out to each site with a computer and download data. Instead, the information is beamed to a satellite and back down. Each gauge is equipped with satellite telemetry to provide real-time information to the National Weather Service, local officials, and others.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain