High N fertilizer costs projected for the 2005 growing season provide an incentive for assigning appropriate N credits where soybean was grown in 2004. The 2004 growing season caused late soybean planting and delayed maturity for some areas resulting in low grain yields. Soybean production experiences ranged form normal grain harvest to abandoned acreage with all of the dry matter left in the field. In some cases immature soybean was harvested as a forage, again with all above ground dry matter removed. In other cases, soybean residue was removed for feed or bedding after grain harvest. With this variation in soybean production outcomes, questions on assigning appropriate N credits for the crops to be grown following soybean have emerged. The purpose of this paper is to provide soybean N credit recommendations for several of the production conditions encountered in 2004. The specific situations include the following:

• Normal grain harvest with expected grain yields.
• Soybean grain harvest, but low yields (less than 20-25 bu/acre).
• Soybean grain harvest, residues removed.
• Soybean harvested as forage with all top-growth removed.
• Abandoned acreage due to immaturity or low yield, dry matter left in field.