The Residual Soil Nitrogen (RSN) Indicator and the Indicator of Risk of Water Contamination by Nitrate (IROWC-N) are two of the twenty five Indicators which are being developed under the National Agri-Environmental Health Analysis and Reporting Program. RSN is the amount of nitrogen that remains in the soil at the end of the growing season after crops have been harvested whereas the IROWC-N is an indicator which links the RSN to climatic- and soil conditions to assess the likelihood of N moving through the soil and out of the agricultural system. The IROWC-N results are assessed in terms of N lost via leached water, and its concentration in the leached water and the IROWC-N risk classes are based on both of these criteria. The Canadian average RSN values were fairly constant (12.7 to 13.1 kg N/ha)from 1981 to 1996 but increased by 53% to 20.1 kg N/ha in 2001. This dramatic increase was due to several factors including an increase in N inputs and lower crop yields and N uptake as a result of droughts which were prevalent in 2001. The average amount of N lost in Canada ranged from 4.6 to 6.0 kg N/ ha from 1981 to 2001. N concentration values remained fairly constant during the 1981 to 1996 (3.5 to 4.3 mg N/L), but increased by 28% to 5.5 mg N/L in 2001.