One field · Clark County, IL · 2026
See the nitrogen.
Save the pass.
$50.00/ac
saved on one June decision
$8,000 across 160 acres
N dissolved
307
lbs/ac in soil water
N leached
19
lbs/ac estimated
Cost
$8.94
per acre
Two instruments. One weekly call.
The crop used most of the nitrogen and never got stressed. The loop said skip.
Pass avoided
$50.00/ac
$8,000 across 160 ac
N leached
19 lbs/ac
after crop uptake · raw upper bound 307 lbs/ac
Fertilizer value
$8.94/ac
$1,430 across 160 ac
Water drained
9.70 in
20.14 in rain · 20 drainage days
Peak nitrate
597 ppm
Jun 24
Week by week
Tap a week to scope every number and both charts to it.
Full season
Nitrogen leaving the root zone, with the rain that pushed it.
The loop
Waitwhole seasonBelow ground — sensor
134 ppm average at 12 in, low of 0.3 ppm.
Above ground — satellite
NDRE 0.639 (+153% over the period).
Decision
Wait — rain ahead would steal a fresh application
$8.94/ac of nitrogen at risk in this window
20.1 in of rain pushed 9.7 in of water past 12 in — the biggest N mover of this stretch. The crop intercepted most of it.
Buy now, pay later with PayPal — from $208/mo for one sensor.
Days the satellite could see
18 clear passes, 28 clouded out. The sensor read every one of these 113 days.
Where the water went
Whole season · inches of water
Rain in
20.14 in
Used by the crop
−20.10 in
Change in stored soil water
−0.19 in
Drained past the roots
9.70 in
That 9.70 in of drainage carried 19 lbs/ac of nitrogen with it — after crediting the crop for what it intercepted on the way. Without that credit the raw worst case is 307 lbs/ac.
What each setup is worth
Whole season · nitrogen at $0.48/lb, a sidedress pass at $50.00/ac
Satellite only
$8.94/ac leaves unseen
Sees: Crop looks fine or it doesn't — on clear days
Misses: 28 blind days, no idea what nitrate is doing
Sensor only
No false alarm this period
Sees: Nitrate in the band every day — worst case $147/ac in draining water
Misses: Can't tell the crop ate most of it (real loss $8.94/ac)
The loop
Loss quantified, no pass needed: −$12.00/ac
Sees: Both, on the same day
Misses: —
One season. One decision. Paid for itself.
19 lbs/ac of nitrate left the root zone this season — $8.94/ac you already paid for. In June the full system came together: the band read nearly empty, the satellite showed the canopy was still thriving, and the loop said skip. That one call saved $50.00/ac — $8,000 across 160 acres. Guessing costs more than measuring.
Buy now, pay later with PayPal — from $208/mo for one sensor.
Daily below-ground nitrate, Sentinel-2 crop truth, and a weekly call on every field.