Rate My Professor Nathan Nelson

Nathan Nelson, PhD, is Professor of Soil Fertility and Nutrient Management in the Department of Agronomy at Kansas State University, where he joined the faculty in 2005 and was promoted to full professor in 2017. A native of Manhattan, Kansas, he earned a BS in Agronomy from Kansas State University in 1998, an MS in Soil Science from North Carolina State University in 2000, and a PhD in Soil Science from the same institution in 2004. Prior to his appointment at KSU, Nelson worked at the USDA-ARS Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory in Idaho. His career emphasizes practical applications of soil science to address challenges in agricultural production and environmental stewardship.

Nelson's research focuses on soil fertility and nutrient management, with particular emphasis on improving phosphorus application efficiency to maximize crop yields while reducing phosphorus runoff into surface waters and ensuring economic viability for producers. He conducts multidisciplinary studies at laboratory, small-plot, field, and watershed scales, integrating technologies such as GIS, GPS, precision agriculture, and computer simulation models to examine nutrient cycling, availability from agricultural and industrial by-products, and landscape distribution. As director of the Kansas Agricultural Watershed Field Laboratory, he oversees projects evaluating conservation practices for mitigating non-point source pollution and enhancing water quality. Notable publications include “Struvite precipitation in anaerobic swine lagoon liquid: effect of pH and Mg:P ratio and determination of rate constant” (2003), “Nitrogen and phosphorus availability in biochar-amended soils” (2011), “Comparison of AnnAGNPS and SWAT model simulation results in USDA-CEAP agricultural watersheds in south-central Kansas” (2009), and “Cover crops impact phosphorus cycling and environmental efficiency in a corn-soybean system” (2023). Nelson teaches undergraduate courses AGRON 375 (Nutrient Cycling and Fertilizer Management) and AGRON 385 (Soil Analysis and Fertilizer Recommendations), as well as the graduate course AGRON 835 (Nutrient Sources, Uptake, and Cycling), using active learning to highlight agronomic, economic, and environmental impacts of nutrient management.