Even with the spring price spike easing, nitrogen is still the costliest nutrient to lose — because you pay twice. Once to apply it, and again in the yield it should have built but didn’t. And nitrogen leaves more easily than any other nutrient on the farm.
It walks out two doors.
Door one: volatilization
Surface-applied urea converts to ammonium, and along the way nitrogen escapes to the air as ammonia gas. This is fast and it is large: research summarized by Manitoba Agriculture found 38–46% of surface urea N lost within five days at 25°C, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada trials at Brandon measured losses from 40% up to 88% within a week of a surface application (Manitoba Agriculture).
Door two: leaching and denitrification
Once nitrogen converts to nitrate, it moves. In wet conditions it leaches below the root zone, and in saturated soils bacteria convert it to nitrogen gases that are lost to the atmosphere. Total nitrogen losses can reach 20–50% or more depending on soil, temperature, and moisture (Taurus: Nitrogen Management).
One product, both doors
A dual inhibitor closes both. NBPT inhibits the urease enzyme, slowing urea’s breakdown at the surface and sharply reducing ammonia volatilization — peer-reviewed work reports NBPT can cut NH₃ emissions by up to ~78% versus untreated urea (Scientific Reports). DMPP inhibits the bacteria that convert ammonium to nitrate, keeping nitrogen in the stable ammonium form longer and reducing both leaching and denitrification, without increasing volatilization (Frontiers in Plant Science).
That dual-action protection is built into TSN — field-ready 46-0-0 already treated with NBPT and DMPP. Treating your own urea or UAN? ARM U Advanced combines both inhibitors, and the full nitrogen management lineup covers single-mode options for specific risks. Not sure which loss pathway is your real exposure? The N-Sight tool assesses your volatilization and nitrification risk and points to the right stabilizer.
We put real numbers to this question in our 2026 nitrogen management trials. The takeaway is simple: protecting nitrogen is cheaper than reapplying it — every season, and especially this one.
Sources
- Manitoba Agriculture — Volatilization Losses From Surface Applied Nitrogen
- Scientific Reports (Nature Portfolio) — Urease inhibitor technologies to mitigate ammonia emissions
- Frontiers in Plant Science — Nitrification inhibitor DMPP regulates soil mineral nitrogen
