Nutrient Management Planning Flashcards
7 cards from real CCA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Nutrient Management Planning flashcards as text
A farmer wants to apply anhydrous ammonia (82-0-0) at 150 lbs N/ac. How many gallons per acre are needed if anhydrous ammonia weighs approximately 5.15 lbs per gallon?
Answer: 35.4 gal/ac
Lbs of product = 150 ÷ 0.82 = 182.9 lbs/ac; gallons = 182.9 ÷ 5.15 = 35.5 gal/ac.
Which of the following soil conditions MOST increases the risk of denitrification losses from applied nitrogen?
Answer: Warm, saturated soil with high organic matter content
Denitrification requires anaerobic conditions (waterlogging), warm temperatures, available carbon, and nitrate — all present in warm, saturated, high-OM soils.
A CCA is interpreting a base saturation report showing Ca=65%, Mg=10%, K=3%, Na=1%, and H=21%. What is the approximate CEC of this soil if calcium is 1,300 lbs/ac in the top 6 inches?
Answer: 16 meq/100g
Ca at 65% saturation = 1,300 lbs/ac; Ca contributes 2 meq per mmol, and 1,300 lbs/ac Ca ÷ 400 lbs per meq/100g = ~CEC 16 meq/100g (using the standard 2 million lbs/ac furrow slice).
When writing a nutrient management plan under USDA NRCS Practice Standard 590, the plan must address which of the following?
Answer: All plant nutrients applied from all sources including manure, biosolids, and fertilizer
NRCS 590 requires that nutrient management plans address all nutrients from all sources—commercial fertilizers, manure, biosolids, and other amendments—to protect water quality.
A soil has a buffer pH of 6.8 and a target pH of 6.5. Which action should a CCA recommend?
Answer: Take no action because the soil is already near the target pH
If the buffer pH is 6.8 and the target is 6.5, the soil is slightly above target, and either no action or minor acidification may be warranted — applying lime would further raise pH.
Sulfur deficiency in crops is most commonly associated with which of the following soil and environmental conditions?
Answer: Sandy, low-organic-matter soils in areas with reduced atmospheric sulfur deposition
Sulfur deficiency has increased as atmospheric SO2 deposition declined; coarse, low-OM soils hold little sulfate and are most vulnerable.
In precision nutrient management, variable rate technology (VRT) is MOST economically justified when a field has:
Answer: High spatial variability in soil test values across defined management zones
VRT provides the greatest economic and environmental benefit when soil nutrient levels vary significantly across the field, enabling application rate matching to actual need.