We can guess. We can't tell you with certainty. Could be ammonium nitrate. Ammonium sulfate. Ammonium chloride. Ammonium phosphate. Ammonium...

You get the idea.

Dan

Thanks, Dan. Bleh. It really makes me sick to my stomach. Especially after seeing "Food Inc" and knowing what sort of genetically modified seeds are being grown around me, sprayed with sprays produced by the same company, and the crops government subsidized and fed to animals that shouldn't even be eating them. It is just absolutely appalling in every way. Gah! I'm surrounded on all four sides, too, save my little oasis. Sad, really...and terrifying.

Anyone else dealing with this? Care to commiserate?

Ammonia: NH3 Unlikely to be doing much of anything in your garden because it's very volatile.

Sounds like he was knifing anhydrous ammonia into the soil. Was the container something that looked like a propane tank on 4 wheels pulled behind his tractor? He could have been side dressing with a liquid, urea ammonium nitrate but it doesn't have a strong smell when applied, anhydrous ammonia is applied as a gas and certainly can escape into the air and your nostrils.

Thanks for the responses.

Yes, Michael, that's exactly what it looked like and, I believe, exactly what it was.

Can you tell me more about anhydrous ammonia, please?

Sure: it is very commonly used in the US as a Nitrogen source. The tank sometimes rides along on the tractor. Behind the tractor is an implement with vertical knives that are placed at various depths depending on the method being used for injection. On the backside of the knives are metal tubes that extend down almost to the tip of the knives, through these tubes, the anhydrous is injected as a gas as the whole setup goes through the field. The anhydrous has a strong affinity for moist soil and when applied properly, will stay where it is injected.

Now for the scary part. Anhydrous ammonia gas is very dangerous depending on the concentration. It dissolves readily in water and can cause severe trauma to the eyes, respiratory system and skin. As with any hazardous materials, there are those who take them very seriously and those who don't. If you want to know more about the hazards of the stuff, do a web search for "anhydrous ammonia". I can't say whether your neighbor was acting recklessly but understand your being concerned when smelling the odor, I'd be concerned too and would get to know the person doing the applications.

Here is a link that might be useful: accidents w/anhydrous

Either he was spraying or he was knifing. You might smell either one but unless he actually was acting in a careless fashion there's really not much you can do, besides fuss. I doubt he was spraying in a way that would drift out of his fields since that stuff is expensive. Try to avoid being in the garden when he's treating his fields and you won't have to smell it. If you're surrounded by large farms that's about all you can do. If you happen to get a little extra nitrogen, your plants will not mind :)

From the OP description he was spraying. Nonetheless, I fail to see what harm it could bring to a residential garden. If you see the guy towing the trailer again, go inside for an hour.

Dan

I agree with Dan. You're still around to talk about it so you're okay. In the garden, some plants may absorb some of it and get a little nitrogen effect. Ammonia is a natural byproduct of the decomposition of protein. In an organic garden you have puh-LENTY of that going on as the organic material you use for just about everything contains protein. Mulch, dead leaves, and compost will absorb ammonia gas as fast as it can be generated.

I don't mean to belittle your question. I can understand your concern and frustration, but in this case, you got off very easy. At least it wasn't glyphosphate he was spraying. Then you'd have good reason to complain loudly.

Too bad the guy doesn't call his new neighbors as a courtesy and to help them understand how farm ops work.

Dan

Oops, missed the word, "spraying" or I considered the observation to have actually been inaccurate and been knifing instead because of "ammonia". All the URAN totes I see don't have Ammonia plastered on their sides but the anhydrous ones have, "Anhydrous Ammonia" plastered on them. I assume the farmer was applying URAN, sure would be nice to know one way or the other.

Anhydrous ammonia is not dangerous to your garden,especially in those tiny quantities. Otherwise, it would not be used so commonly as a fertilizer. However, I understand your concern because it is synthetically produced using fossil fuels,which I assume is not considered appropriate in the organic industry. That brings us back to the classic organic vs conventional debate: since it is chemically identical to the ammonia released during decomposition of proteins, why is it a problem? Just a rhetorical question...

Bottomline is, except for the philosophical/legal issue of being contaminated by conventional fertilizers, no harm was done. You might want to talk to him to spray when you are upwind. Next time,it could be a herbicide, like what someone said.