Combat High Nitrogen Prices with Agrotain Although Agrotain has been in the market for several years, most producers continue to think of it only as an additive to liquid nitrogen that reduces the potential of burning in forage grass stands. Agrotain is more than this. Because it delays the conversion of urea to ammonium and ammonia, more nitrogen is taken up by the crop and less is lost to volatilization. This has two benefits: less atmospheric pollution by ammonia and less money lost. When you top-dress nitrogen you can lose money two ways. The first is volatilization of ammonia to the air and the second is leaching of nitrate. Ammonium converts to nitrate which is vulnerable to leaching. So, if you think of a planted crop as a closed system, ammonia volatilizing out the top and nitrate draining out the bottom represent net losses to you of money. Here is how Agrotain works: it contains a compound that inhibits the activity of urease, an enzyme involved in the hydrolysis of urea to ammonia and carbon dioxide. This puts this part of the nitrogen cycle “on hold” for up to two weeks, thereby keeping more nitrogen sustained in a usable form for your crop. Agrotain is impregnated onto either granular urea or liquid UAN right at TerraLink in Abbotsford. Worse in warm conditions, surface-applied urea can lose 30% of the nitrogen in the first three days following an application. What does it cost? Using the five to seven day rate, Agrotain costs about $2.05 per acre for 40-0-0+5.5(S) applied at 150 lbs per acre. Compared to a potential loss of 30% of the nitrogen at a cost to you of about $15 per acre, it seems an obvious choice to use the Agrotain. While the cost of nitrogen has increased significantly along with other nutrients, the cost of Agrotain is still about the same. That’s a fivefold return on your money.