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Opinion: GHG debate needs debit-credit balance

The home plate in baseball is 17 inches wide.

I listened to a presentation by the University of Saskatchewan agricultural economist Richard Gray at the end of March. In his submission, he suggested there was an error in greenhouse gas emission accounting. Kevin Hursh mentioned this in his column on page 11 of the April 6 issue.

Gray hypothesized that the accounting does not account for the carbon dioxide withdrawn from the atmosphere, converted to energy, stored in a kernel of grain, and exported to a user. The farm does not get credit for that exported carbon.

Industry champions support his hypothesis. I hear words like “rewarded,” and that past practices should be in the reward mix and the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change coefficients are wrong.

But the IPCC protocols for reporting emissions do address this energy transport. The accounting for respiratory emissions is on a worldwide scale. Their protocol is slightly less than a one-to-one debit and credit.

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Supplemental Nitrogen on Soybeans: Can Early Nitrogen Increase Yield?

Video: Supplemental Nitrogen on Soybeans: Can Early Nitrogen Increase Yield?

Can supplemental nitrogen help soybeans reach higher yield potential? Technical Agronomist Tim Sickman walks through an ongoing trial at the Nutrien Innovation Farm in Owensboro, Kentucky, exploring whether a modest amount of nitrogen applied at planting can support higher-yielding soybean environments.

The trial compares 30 pounds of supplemental nitrogen across both 15- and 30-inch rows, along with treatments that include sulfur and micronutrients. Similar trials conducted in 2024 and 2025 delivered a six- to seven-bushel yield response, prompting the team to expand the research this season.

Early observations show that treated soybeans are slightly taller and averaging about two additional nodes on the main stem. These added nodes could create more opportunities for blooms and pods, but the true results will come at harvest when the team evaluates pod development, seed fill and final yield.

In This Video:

Why high-yield soybeans may need supplemental nitrogen

Results from the 2024 and 2025 trials

Nitrogen treatments in 15- and 30-inch rows

Fertilizer placement and application methods

Differences in plant height and node counts

Potential effects on pod development and yield