The rising cost of seed, fertilizer, and crop protection chemicals have increased the need for farmers to know all the agronomic and economic benefits associated with each input decision they make. The high cost of commercial fertilizer has made poultry litter a more economical and preferred pre-plant fertilizer for many row crop farmers in Alabama.

Research conducted in Alabama has showed that corn and cotton exhibited an incremental yield response to increasing rates of poultry litter applied the previous year in comparison to plots that received no nitrogen fertilizer. The NRCS Code 519 guidelines used by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to regulate agricultural...