Ontario corn growers wanting to split their nitrogen application can now get some financial surety when they adopt the practice.
After a small pilot program in 2025, Farmers for Climate Solutions is now offering the Profit Warranty to Optimize Nitrogen Rates program.
WHY IT MATTERS: Splitting nitrogen, rather than front loading fertilizer application in the spring, has been sold to farmers as a way to both limit nitrogen loss and to hedge risk if suddenly the profit outlook for that crop dips.
Unlike traditional cost-share funding models, the program features a profit warranty in case participants incur losses in adopting split application — losses being determined through comparison to their business-as-usual profitability in the same field or similar fields.
The idea is to improve fertilizer efficiency and reduce business risk.
How the warranty program works
Participants sign up to put crop in the ground with 30 pounds of nitrogen. They then base their in-season application rate on agronomist recommendations, informed by the results of a pre-sidedress nitrate test (PSNT).
The profit warranty guarantees income if the field does not perform. Participants also get up to $500 in agronomist services for project support, including nutrient management recommendations, full reimbursement for the required nitrate test and a $1,000 honorarium for their time.
“Our goal is to assess if a profit warranty can be a helpful new tool to optimize nitrogen use,” said James Cober, strategic initiatives manager for Farmers for Climate Solutions. “This program is novel in terms of what’s being offered in Canada. The program addresses the risks involved in trying something new — by offering to protect that profit loss, we’re able to cover that risk.”
$40 per acre savings
Matthew Wagenaar, a grain and livestock farmer from Lambton County, participated in the pilot project with a 12-acre corn test plot in 2025.
“What enticed me is the fact that I get to try this without the fear of lost income,” Wagenaar said, adding he was already actively learning about new approaches to split-nitrogen application.
Despite doing his homework, Wagenaar still “wanted that backup.”
Wagenaar’s family typically applies 100 pounds of nitrogen at planting, then another 100 pounds side-dressed when crops reach around the V6 stage.
Under the warranty program, he was limited to that 30-pound cap at planting, though it was recommended 130 pounds be applied in side-dress. The result was significant cost savings, and a good crop.
“The worry was if you got into a really wet spring and you couldn’t get that side dress on in time, would you still see that return,” Wagenaar said. “It was pretty much saving a good $40 an acre almost.”
Applicants wanted
As of March 24, Cober said his organization is still looking for warranty program participants. He does not anticipate imposing an application closing date before corn planting begins in earnest.
“We have some great cost share funding programs like [the On Farm Climate Action Fund] and its nitrogen programming category.… Again, the novelty of the profit warranty program is there’s nothing like it that’s been done in Ontario,” he said.
Similar programs have been tried in other jurisdictions, however, including best management practices challenges in the United States and profit insurance initiatives in Australia.
“It’s open to anyone who is curious about nitrogen management, which is especially timely right now,” Cober noted.
Cober also encouraged growers to consult Farmers for Climate Solution’s FaRM Resilience Mentorship resources to learn about other nitrogen management strategies which might apply to their individual farms.
Those interest in the profit warranty program can apply through the Farmers for Climate Solutions website.
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