UIUC Researchers Launch Data-Driven Tool to Help Illinois Farmers Optimize Fertilizer Use

Researchers at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, led by Kaiyu Guan (Chief Scientist at NASA Acres) have developed a tool to help Illinois corn farmers optimize nitrogen (N) fertilizer use. The Maximum Return To Nitrogen (MRTN) Tool uses data on N fertilizer response and prices to help farmers apply only what’s needed, improving returns and reducing environmental impact. To use the tool, it’s simple - farmers select the district where their farm is located, enter respective management practices, and then calculate!

he UIUC team is continuing to improve the tool. They have recently added a feature that allows users to generate a custom report and have plans to integrate sustainability metrics such as N-N2O emissions and N-leaching. This tool is a part of Dr. Guan’s broader research under NASA Acres using satellite data to support N with long-term goals of minimizing environmental impacts while sustaining crop productivity.

This tool was developed and hosted by the Agroecosystem Sustainability Center at University of Illinois. Visit the following link to view the tool as hosted on their platform: https://tools.asc.illinois.edu/nitrogen-advisor.

For any questions regarding the tool, please contact: Ziyi Li, UIUC.

Learn more about Dr. Guan’s research with NASA Acres