TNA FAQ

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the Total Nitrogen Applied (TNA) Report

Last updated 2/8/22

FAQ SECTION I – General Reporting & Submittal Questions

Who needs to file a TNA report, and when?

By March 1st of 2022, all ranches to which TNA reporting applied under the previous Ag Order (3.0) are required to report Total Nitrogen Applied (TNA) to their 2021 crops.

The requirement to report TNA in 2022 includes ranches that began Ag Order 3.0 in 2017 as Tier 2 or Tier 3 ranches, but were later converted to Tier 1. Preservation, Inc. is aware of only two exceptions to this:

  1. If your ranch was incorrectly assigned to Tier 2 or Tier 3 and the Water Board converted the ranch to Tier 1 and acknowledged the mistake; or
  2. If you voluntarily or inadvertently reported TNA for a ranch during a previous year, even though you were not required to.

The TNA reporting requirement will be phased in for other ranches/growers beginning in 2024.  The information reported in 2024 will be for crops grown during 2023.

How can I submit a TNA Report in 2022

Third Party members must use Preservation, Inc’s TNA reporting tools to submit their TNA reports by March 1st of 2022 (see below for more info on 2022 reporting tools).

Please upload your completed report to Preservation, Inc’s “TNA Report Submittal“ page.  If you experience any problems uploading your report to the above-linked page, please email it as an attachment to: Support@ccwqp.org

If you are unable to complete a spreadsheet or do not have access to Microsoft Excel software, please contact us at 831-240-9533 or Support@ccwqp.org

Is the Preservation, Inc. TNA Report Different than the Web-Form TNA Report in GeoTracker?

No. The reporting form itself looks different, but the information required is exactly the same. Preservation, Inc. does not require submittal of any information that is not also required by the Central Coast Water Board.

Growers who use our “Tool” to complete the report will enter additional information in the record-keeping and calculation tabs provided.  We provide these additional tabs for growers who do not already have their own record-keeping and calculation systems.  This additional information is for the grower’s own records, and does not go on to be submitted to the Water Board.

If a TNA report was already submitted via the GeoTracker Web-Form and a grower now realizes an update needs to be made, should the updates be made in GeoTracker or through Preservation, Inc?

Updates can be made in the GeoTracker Web-Form (i.e. where the original report was made), OR an updated/revised report can be submitted through Preservation, Inc. In the latter case, any existing reports for the 2021 crop year will be overwritten with the information provided by Preservation, inc. (This will overwrite, not duplicate, the prior report. And the submittal made through Preservation, Inc. needs to contain the complete report, not just the updated/revised records.)

I need to submit or update a TNA report for a terminated ranch, but the ranch info is “locked” in GeoTracker. How can I submit or update the TNA?

Wherever possible, Preservation, Inc’s members should make these reports/updates using Preservation, Inc’s reporting tools.  The steps are the same as for a regular TNA report, and this should be completed by 3/1/2022 or as soon thereafter as possible.

If you wish to submit or update a TNA report for a terminated ranch via GeoTracker, you must contact the Water Board and request that the ranch be temporarily “reactivated.”  You must then make your report or updates in GeoTracker before the close of the temporary reactivation period.

FAQ SECTION II – Questions About Report Content & Instructions

Information in this section is intended to conform to requirements of Ag Order 4.0 and specific guidance issued by the Region 3 Water Board. If any of the information below appears incorrect, please notify: Support@ccwqp.org
Can Soil N (“Nitrogen Present”) equal zero?
No, at least one Nitrogen Present in Soil value must be greater than zero.
How does a grower report if soil nitrogen was not measured?

Per Water Board guidance, growers must measure soil-N and maintain this information in their records.  For the TNA report that is due by 3/1/22, growers that did not measure the N present in soil for their 2021 crops should do the following:

  • Insert “0.000001” in one of the “Nitrogen Present in Soil” values, and
  • Enter “Soil nitrogen not measured (0.000001)” as a Comment in the “ReportInfoComments” column in the ReportInfo tab
Can cover crops be reported in the ReportCompost tab (i.e. section for compost & soil amendments)?
No. Cover crops must be reported in the ReportCrop tab, using the drop-down list to select one of the provided Cover Crop names/types (as you would for any other crop).
What if I did not apply any fertilizer N to a crop?

It is fine to report “0” pounds applied if you did not apply any fertilizer-N to a crop, provided this is an accurate reflection of your practices.  This is an acceptable value and will not be flagged as a true “Error.”  You may, however, receive a “Warning,” which is simply a prompt to double check and confirm that your entry was correct and not a typo.  Your final report will be accepted, even if you do not make any changes in response to the Warning.

What if I don’t know the C:N ratio for a fertilizer?

In this case, simply select “NR” (Not Recorded) from the drop-down menu to indicate that the value is unknown.  You cannot leave this item blank.

For now, C:N ratio is an optional field that will be used in the future as part of the INMP summary report to determine the organic fertilizer discount factor for the amount of nitrogen mineralized during the first 12 weeks in the year it was applied.

I apply more than one organic fertilizer to a single crop, and each fertilizer has a different C:N ratio. How do I report this situation?

Update 2/14/22: Quite a few growers have this question, and we expect to have a response from the Water Board shortly.  In the meantime, one option is to calculate a “weighted average C:N ratio,” based on all fertilizers applied to the crop.  This way, the crop can be entered as a single line-item, with a single weighted-average C:N ratio. 

For example, if you used Fertilizer A for half of your total N-application, Fertilizer B for one-quarter of your total N-application, and Fertilizer C for the rest (i.e. one-quarter), then multiply the C:N ratios by 0.5 (Fertilizer A), 0.25 (Fertilizer B), and 0.25 (Fertilizer C) prior to summing to get the weighted average.

Contact Info

  • PO Box 2227
    Watsonville, CA 95077
  • 831-761-8644 (phone)
  • 831-761-8695 (fax)
For a full list of contacts please
visit our contact page.

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