Description:    The research reported here seeks to determine whether it is necessary to obtain optical reflectance measurements with a GreenSeeker ® handheld sensor from each field to make accurate in-season nitrogen application recommendations for winter wheat, and how much precision—and profit—would be lost by moving from site-specific (or field-specific) optical reflectance sampling to region-level sampling. The approach used was to estimate a separate linear response-plateau regression every year using yield and optical reflectance data from randomized complete block experiments. Profits from region-level sampling and field-level sampling were statistically indistinguishable, but this result was mostly due to both being imprecise. Furthermore, the region- and field-based sampling systems were no better than break-even with the historical extension advice to apply preplant anhydrous ammonia at 90 kg ha −1 . The approach of estimating a new regression every year is too imprecise, whether at the field or region level. This research goes beyond past research by accounting for the uncertainty in the estimated relationships. The poor performance of the systems is directly related to the imprecise relationship between yield and optical reflectance responses to nitrogen. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-25 DOI 10.1007/s11119-012-9291-4 Authors D. C. Roberts, Department of Agribusiness & Applied Economics, North Dakota State University, NDSU Dept. 7610, P. O. Box 6050, Fargo, ND 58108-6050, USA B. W. Brorsen, Department of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University, 414 Agricultural Hall, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA J. B. Solie, Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Oklahoma State University, 111 Agricultural Hall, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA W. R. Raun, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, Oklahoma State University, 044 N. Agricultural Hall, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA Journal Precision Agriculture Online ISSN 1573-1618 Print ISSN 1385-2256