Chris Nykolaishen, president of Nytro Ag Corp. and the Canadian distributor of the Green Lightning Nitrogen System, joins Dan Aberhart for a live briefing on making nitrogen on the farm from air, water and electricity. The conversation stays with the evidence: a nitrate solution that tests under 1 percent, sold as an equivalent ratio, with wins and losses in the trials so far and water quality behind most of the failures. Chris lays out what a machine costs once reverse osmosis, storage and power are counted, and what the daily work looks like. Producers will take away a clearer view of who this suits, who should wait, and how to start small and verify before trusting it with a crop.
Nitrogen is one of the biggest checks on the farm, and most of the air over the field is nitrogen the crop cannot use. Dan opens with Fritz Haber, Carl Bosch and Thomas Hager’s The Alchemy of Air, then asks the practical question. What would it take to make some of your own nitrogen where you use it?
Chris explains how the system works. Cold plasma breaks the bond in air nitrogen, and the nitrogen is captured in water as nitrate. The product tests under 1 percent nitrate, so it is sold on an equivalent ratio and used to fill the gap in a fertility program. Chris is open about what the company has learned. Water quality decides results, uniform foliar coverage beats banding, and spoon-feeding across several passes works better than one.
The cost stack and the daily work follow, and the conversation closes on who this suits and who should wait. The audience Q&A covers tank mixing, tissue tests, freezing, storage and 2027 capacity.
Key Topics
• How plasma-activated water turns air, water and electricity into plant-available nitrate
• Why water quality (TDS, chlorine, metals) decides both results and machine life
• Reading an equivalent ratio against a lab analysis of under 1 percent
• Replacing part of the nitrogen program, spoon-feeding, and in-furrow support
• Upfront cost, daily maintenance and who the system fits
Resources Mentioned
• The Alchemy of Air by Thomas Hager
• Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch
• Olds College trial work on the product
Connect
• Nytro Ag
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