Overview of a Public-Industry Partnership for Enhancing Corn Nitrogen Research and Datasets.

Due to economic and environmental consequences of nitrogen (N) lost from fertilizer applications in corn (Zea mays L.), considerable public and industry attention has been devoted to development of N decision tools. Now a wide variety of tools are available to farmers for managing N inputs. However, research is needed over a wide geographic range of soil and weather scenarios for evaluating tool performance. The objectives of this research were to conduct standardized corn N rate response field studies to evaluate the performance of multiple public-domain N decision tools across diverse soils and environmental conditions, develop and publish new agronomic science for improved crop N management, and train new scientists. The project was initiated in a partnership among eight US Midwest land-grant universities, USDA-ARS, and DuPont Pioneer. Research using a standardized protocol was conducted over the 2014 through 2016 growing seasons, yielding a total of 49 sites. The geographic scope, scale, and unique collaborative arrangement warrant documenting details of this work. The purpose of this talk is to provide an overview of the project, describe how the research was undertaken, and reasons for the research methods used. The following papers in this session will present preliminary results from the project and highlight the potential value of these types of collaborative research efforts.