3 Tips for Preparing a Nutrient Management Plan

Planning for the 2026 season begins in the fall, and a good place to focus your efforts is revisiting your nutrient management program. While this season is still fresh in your mind, think about what you’ll need to do to ensure your crops have what they need to thrive next year. Fall soil sampling and nutrient applications are tasks that can be completed after harvest to get a jump start on the spring. Here are some other tips to fine-tune your nutrient management plan.

1. Consider Your Crop Plan

As you develop a nutrient management strategy, you’ll need to revisit your crop plan. Will you change your rotations? If so, that could change your fertility program. Consider your seed choices as you make fertilizer decisions as well. Higher-yielding hybrids and varieties require more intense fertilization, and some hybrids are more responsive to nitrogen fertilization than others. Ask your agronomist for fertilization recommendations as you make your seed decisions.

2. Take Soil Samples and Tissue Tests

If it’s been several years since you’ve taken a soil test, it’s time to get an updated analysis done. Soil sampling is key to understanding what the baseline nutrient levels are in your soil. It can help build the foundation for an effective fertility plan. If you tissue sampled at critical growth stages this season, be sure to use those findings to inform your nutrient plan for 2026.

It’s a good idea to look at past soil and tissue sampling results to help identify trends you may see over time. For example, if one part of a field is deficient in nitrogen every year, there may be things you can do to limit nitrogen loss in those areas. It is also a good time to identify areas in your field where variable rate nutrient application could be an option.

Tissue and soil sample results can also help you identify critical gaps in nutrition to solve in 2026 plans. According to WinField® United tissue sampling reports, zinc, manganese and boron are the most common micronutrient deficiencies in corn and soybeans.¹ MAX-IN® Ultra ZMB® Plus micronutrient is a great product to combat those deficiencies. It’s a foliar-applied source of zinc, manganese and boron with flexible use, as it can be conveniently mixed with herbicides, insecticides and fungicides.

Another product to consider including in your 2026 nutrient plan is a plant growth regulator (PGR). Ascend ST3™ PGR (for soybeans and cereals) and Ascend2® PGR (for corn) can work alongside micronutrients to protect vulnerable seedlings, improve stress tolerance and accelerate early season development. 

3. Stabilize Nitrogen Levels

Fall can be a great time to apply nitrogen if you live in the Upper Midwest or I-states because weather conditions are often more favorable for application. In areas like Ohio, however, fall nitrogen applications are not popular due to excessive precipitation. One USDA study shows that about 29% of nitrogen applied is lost from farm fields through various loss pathways such as volatility, leaching and denitrification.² Regardless of when or how you apply nitrogen, stabilizers can help prevent nitrogen loss and improve nitrogen use efficiency. Not all nitrogen stabilizers work in the same way, so your retailer can recommend the best option based on your preferred application method and timing.

Adequate plant nutrition is a requirement to meet a crop’s yield potential. Now is the time to look ahead to avoid lost opportunities next season. Contact your local WinField United retailer to build a comprehensive nutrient strategy.

^{1 Average based on 221,050 tissue samples from the WinField United Tissue Sample Treasury across V4-R2 growth stages from 2012-2022. 
2 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2017. Effects of Conservation Practices on Nitrogen Loss from Farm Fields: A National Assessment Based on the 2003-06 CEAP Survey and APEX Modeling Databases.
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© 2025 WinField United. Important: Before use always read and follow label instructions. Crop performance is dependent on several factors many of which are beyond the control of WinField United, including without limitation, soil type, pest pressures, agronomic practices and weather conditions. Growers are encouraged to consider data from multiple locations, over multiple years and to be mindful of how such agronomic conditions could impact results. Ascend2, Ascend ST3, MAX-IN, WinField and ZMB are trademarks of WinField United. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.}