Coordinating agronomist: Lana Shaw
Supporting agronomists: Junaid Afzal and Salman
Organization: South East Research Farm
Practice: Nitrogen management
Trial started: Spring 2026
Barrier: While many wheat producers understand the theory of variable rate nitrogen (VRN), adoption has been hindered by the uncertainty on the return on investment (the cost of mapping and technology compared to benefits), risk of low protein levels, and a lack of localized data that clearly quantifies the economic benefit of VRN against blanket rates.
Description: This replicated block design farm-scale trial compares the standard blanket nitrogen rate to a variable rate nitrogen (VRN) application in two topographically variable, rainfed Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat fields in the Black soil zone of southeast Saskatchewan. In addition to in-crop monitoring, yield, quality, protein, and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) will be reported across low, mid, and high landscape slope positions. The economic return ($/ac) of each application rate strategy will be determined, based on site-specific performance.