2009 Annual Report 1a.Objectives (from AD-416) Develop improved nitrogen management practices for poultry litter by utilizing conservation crops and high-residue tillage to reduce nitrogen loss to groundwater and the atmosphere. 1b.Approach (from AD-416) Conduct field research to measure parameters to describe nitrogen release from poultry litter and nitrogen uptake of rye cover crops for the EPIC model. Conduct field research to evaluate high-residue tillage implements for reducing ammonia loss from poultry litter. 3.Progress Report The objective of this project, which was initiated in April 2009, is to develop improved nitrogen management practices for poultry litter by utilizing conservation crops and high-residue tillage to reduce nitrogen losses to groundwater and the atmosphere. The approaches for this project are to. 1)conduct field research to measure parameters describing nitrogen release from poultry litter and nitrogen uptake of rye cover crops that are appropriate for describing nitrogen dynamics in the EPIC model, and. 2)conduct field research to evaluate high-residue tillage implements for reducing ammonia loss from poultry litter. Specific experimental details have been discussed as well as treatment design for the field research. Monitoring activities consisted of discussions carried out with phone calls and conference calls that are conducted about three times each month. In addition, two site visits have been conducted to evaluate soil properties, hydrologic regimes, and agronomic suitability of prospective field sites at Wye and the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center.