Hypothetical Question

[M-5]

Here is a Hypothetical scenario. Lets say yesterday you had someone that you have bought all of your hay from for the last 5 yrs tell you they are done and not going to cut hay this year. Tell you that if you want to Spray and fertilize it and use his equipment to cut and roll it. I know what to spray and get rid of the weeds. My question is No time to get a soil test. Don't want to put a pile of money in it UNTIL I own it but want to make enough hay to get me thru and when I own it Ill reevaluate the fields because they have been neglected and not limed or fertilized in last 2 or 3 yrs. What mix of fert would you use and how many # per acre.

 

[Deepsouth]

Number 1
I hate hypothetical questions!
Number 2
Get the soil tested. You have time.

 

[Jogeephus]

Bermuda, 75# N, 40# P, 75# K.

 

[M-5]

Bermuda, 75# N, 40# P, 75# K.

its 90% tiff 85 10% Bahia

 

[Deepsouth]

If you just don't think you have time to get the soil tested put some triple 17 on it and take soil samples and get it tested. When the test comes in you can still add what it needs if anything.

 

[BobbyLummus1]

Liquid N at 25% less than the recommended GPA in your area

 

[Brute 23]

Liquid N at 25% less than the recommended GPA in your area

That's what I would do for a short term solution, especially on Tifton. Shoot the nitrogen to it so you can get what you need this year.

 

[J&D Cattle]

I would fertilize based on what you think the approx yield would be. Each ton of hay harvested will take a certain amount of nutrients with it. I can't usually afford to fertilize to the test on some of these crappy fields so I always try and put at a minimum what I will be taking off.

 

[Jogeephus]

Bermuda, 75# N, 40# P, 75# K.

its 90% tiff 85 10% Bahia

This is more of a maintenance rate so it should be good and your P & K will hold through your second cutting so your second cutting will only need some N unless your soil test tells you its low and if it is you are just that much closer to ammending the soil. IMO, there is no need in robbing the soil by just applying N because it is so expensive to re-build the P & K once depleted and its problematic from a weed standpoint.

You could go with 90# N but I hesitate on that not knowing the pH. To hedge my bet, I wouldn't apply any fertilizer till after the cleanup cut is done and the grass has greened up again. That's just me though.

Also, if before cutting your soil test comes back with a pH out of whack and your grass isn't looking as good as you think it should try spraying a pint of liquid iron on the grass about two weeks before you plan on cutting. This should cost about $5/acre. The iron will stimulate photosynthesis hence stimulating sugar production which will make for some fine feed hay but keep in mind this only works for about two weeks so you want to apply it in near the end but far enough out where the grass can recover from the tractor tires.

 

[RiverHills]

Are you planning on making a deal on the land in the future??

 

[Dave]

I get soil test results back from the lab in 5 to 8 days from the day I ship them. Test if you can. Your grasses are completely different than mine. However, just using the book it says that Bermuda will remover 40 pounds of N, 4 pounds of P, and 28 pounds of K per dry ton. Estimate what your tonnage will be a fertilize a little heavier than the book value.

 

[M-5]

The land Is in a purchase situation , I am not going to put a pile of money in it till my name is on the deed. Something could go south and circumstances beyond my control could happen. We have rain this week and is first we have had for 4 or 5 weeks. It a strike while iron is hot thing. I will get some samples pulled this weekend and it will give me a better picture My concern is just getting this first cutting done in a few weeks and what is the best bang for the buck to get it going. I have a long term plan I started last week when he decided to sell.

 

[skyhightree1]

Personally I wouldn't put anything down but nitrogen until I could get a soil test done... Its cheap makes it grow and minimal cost. cost about 30 bucks per acre for me.

 

[M-5]

Ok , so we arnt supposed to get any rain till weekend so I took samples yesterday and overnight them to auburn , maybe I get results back before Friday. I sprayed the weeds Saturday and gonna get good kill on them by the looks of it.

 

[JMJ Farms]

Spray it with Metcel. Cheap and will wipe the Bahia out.

Minimum 75N 40P 75K. I take all my hayfields and analyze the samples and then come up with 1 "blend" that works well for them all.

I have no idea about the history of your dirt. But if the PH is good, I would guess the sample is gonna reccomend around 400N (75-100 units per cutting), 70-90P (2 split applications), and 300-350K (2 split applications).

M-5, a lot of people will tell you that you can't afford to fertilize by the soil samples. As long as you get decent rainfall, and cut every 4-5 weeks it will pay dividends. (4 weeks is ideal but the protein will run around 14-16% protein and that's overkill for brood cows, 5 weeks will lower it to around 12-13% protein and the yields will increase, and anything over 5 and you're losing valuable nutrients)

 

[M-5]

I took a gamble and cut these fields Saturday , the weather was perfect even with 60% chance. Sunday we had 40% and after the dew dried I got it windrowed and had my son rolling the windrows over ahead of the bailer. Got 1 round done and the bottom fell out for 20 mins , 1/2 inch of rain . I hooked back to the tedder and slung the water out of it for a couple of hours then started raking it again . once raked I again had my son roll the windrows over and I started baleing . Got it all done as a few sprinkles started. 18 acres and I got 32 bales. I will get more fert back on it this week. Considering last year there were 12 rolls taken off of this ALL SUMMER , I think I did pretty good . I didn't scalp it down and still had a lot of runners that stayed pegged. It would have been better if I had not of had to work it so much but it should bounce back pretty quick. and next cutting should be double this one if rain holds .

 

[M-5]

just got this yrs soil samples back and I went from L39 on K to M86(avg on 2 fields) on K PH is good but just a touch below 6.5 . This year I separated the 3 patches out so I will try and apply what each needs to continue to improve yields.

 

[Newberry Creek]

My hay man tells me that tift 85 needs the PH to be right more than other grasses.

 

[M-5]

My hay man tells me that tift 85 needs the PH to be right more than other grasses.

Yes, That's what they tell me also. Its at 6.3. No application of lime was recommended from auburn. Im gonna talk to the IFAS Dr. and see what she thinks because calcium is high

 

[FiveOaksFarmGA]

Tift 85 pH 5.0-7.0. Use of N will increase acidity (the hybrid Bermudas LOVE N), and lime will take time to incorporate. You'll likely need lime sooner than the test tells you (assuming you drop N on it after the test, etc). At that point, you'll be too acidic before the lime has time to take effect. Talk to your fertilizer supplier and they'll give you better details relative to your area, as different soils take the lime faster or slower. Hope that makes sense.