Page 247 - Nutrient Management Planning Guide

238

AFFIRM and Alberta MMP Software

Important Terms

Table 7.2.1 Key Terms and Definitions

Term Definition

Estimated Nitrogen Released (ENR)

An estimate of the total amount of crop available nitrogen that is released in the soil from the organic N pool over the growing season. It is related to soils organic matter content, moisture and temperature.

Farm Optimization

Systematic allocation of N fertilizer in 4.5 kg (10 lb) increments to those fields that will provide the highest economic return (i.e. the highest investment ratio) (IR) until all target investment ratios are achieved or the budget is exhausted. Investment Ratio (IR)

The ratio of marginal return to marginal cost based on crop revenue and fertilizer costs. An investment ratio of 2:1 means that there is a two-dollar return for every one dollar invested.

There are two nutrient management planning and decision-making software tools available to Alberta producers free of charge. This chapter presents the basic information required for using AFFIRM and MMP software applications. This chapter is intended to be a general introduction to the software and is not intended to be a user guide. Please refer to the detailed user guides for full explanations and complete instructions for using these programs.

AFFIRM

The AFFIRM decision support software was developed by AF specialists to calculate crop nutrient requirements based on Alberta research and production economics. AFFIRM uses farm-specific information to generate fertilizer recommendations and to compare various cropping and economic scenarios. The software is used by extension specialists, farm consultants, agricultural retailers, producers, and students to select optimum fertilizer rates.

Records and Required Inputs for AFFIRM

The AFFIRM program has a series of windows to input farm-specific information. To generate fertilizer recommendations AFFIRM requires the following information:

Producer and operation information • Field location and soil group • Soil information (including soil, previous crop and •

crop to be grown information) Fertilizer nutrient costs • Expected crop price • Farm fertilizer budget for farm optimization •