The dry and cool conditions are encouraging some wheat producers to apply their fertilizer needs now rather than in spring. However, there are some considerations that should be kept in mind with this practice. Applying phosphorus, potassium and sulfur needs on the surface should not be a problem for tilled or most no-till acres. With tillage, the fertilizer most likely will be worked in and safe from loss. For no-till acres the likelihood of a runoff event is very low given the dry conditions and the fact that we usually have lots of surface residue with no-till. However, surface applying nitrogen to no-till acres in late fall can be risky, especially given the dry weather pattern we seem to be in right now. Urea fertilizer products applied to the surface soil and in dry conditions are susceptible to volatilization (gaseous N loss). True, temperatures are cool in late fall, but that does not stop this process; only slows it. Observations on fields with urea applied in late fall with little precipitation for well over 60 days indicated little or no N available for the wheat crop the following spring. These observations would agree with Montana State measurements of N loss when urea was applied in cool conditions, but with little precipitation for an extended period. Nitrogen losses of over 40% were measured. More details on this study can be found in the summary of the Montana State University study: “Ammonia volatilization and urea fertilizer”. Application of NBPT (Agrotain) with the urea did reduce losses but some losses still exceeded 18% of the N applied. Waiting until spring for nitrogen application doesn’t guarantee there will be no losses, however, precipitation chances are usually better in the spring than late fall. Precipitation of 0.5 inches or more will move the urea into the soil and protect it from this form of loss.