Columbia Basin, WA
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Yara has recently established a new Incubator Farm in the Columbia Basin of Washington, aimed at exploring how a complete potato crop nutrition program that drives productivity and grower profitability can simultaneously lead to a reduced carbon footprint.
The 260-acre trials will analyze the role of crop nutrition and practices such as 4R nutrient management in supporting the industry’s need to continue to produce high-yielding, quality crops, while also implementing solutions to decarbonize the value chain.
Field-scale trials at the farm will include half pivots of Yara’s TopPotato crop nutrition solution and half pivots of grower standard fertility program, with multiple points of data collection throughout the season to evaluate crop performance related to emergence and early vigor, tuber set, resilience to stress, yield, storage and processing quality.
The video shows the 2022 planting at the Columbia Basin Farm. Keep checking this page for more!
Incubator Farm
Two 130-acre trials with half pivots of Yara TopPotato program compared to grower standard nutrient management program.
The TopPotato program includes a dynamic nutrient program that is optimized for high potato yield and quality:
- YaraVita® PENTAFLO™ applied in-furrow to promote early and rapid shoot and root growth, allowing the crop to take up water and nutrients earlier in the season and allow for earlier row closure.
- A portion of in-season N needs replaced by YaraLiva® CN-9® at tuber initiation and spoon-fed through to bulking. Calcium provided in an available form at tuber initiation and through to bulking helps build cell wall strength, improve tuber quality, and can help mitigate heat stress. Nitrate-nitrogen is available to the crop for quick and predictable uptake.
- Dynamic and proactive application of YaraVita foliar crop nutrition based on needs detected through tissue and soil samples taken throughout the season.
Future Focus Trialing
This site is a location where we can trial different treatments, technologies, and ideas before scaling up to grower-scale trials. Trials are replicated small plots located in proximity to the incubator farm.
2022 Treatments include a variety of nutrient management programs including:
- A baseline grower standard program
- A static modified program including YaraLiva® CN-9®
- Yara’s dynamic TopPotato Programs (including YaraVita® PENTAFLO™, YaraLiva CN-9 applied at various rates, and YaraVita foliar nutrition applied according to in-season needs determined using soil and plant sample analysis and digital tools.
- A program focused on improved soil health
2022 Season Recap
The field trial area on the farm in 2022 consisted of two 130-acre irrigated pivots with half pivots of Yara TopPotato program compared to half pivots of a baseline nutrient management program.
Learn about our key findings and results of the 2022 season. Get access to the full recap booklet.
Check this podcast about the Incubator Farm in the Columbia Basin
In this podcast, crop manager Erika Wagner joins Scott Warr to give us an update on the Columbia Basin Incubator Farm.
For more information about the Columbia Basin Incubator Farm, contact
Erika Wagner, Agronomy Solutions Manager
