Lime

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killingtime

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Getting ready to lime one of my hayfields and I wasn't satisfied with the grass in one of my pastures so I figured it may need some lime too. I had a soil test done and they recommended .9 tons to the acre in the pasture. My cows are on this pasture now, can I lime it with the cows on it, or do I need to move them? Could I lime it in smaller increments with the cows on it?
 
Leave them in it. The lime should be heavy enough that it won;t float around much. The biggest problem with applying lime with the cows in the fiels is the lime dust is an irritant to mostly the eyes. That small of an amount, unless thegrass has been eaten to the gorund shouldn;t even be visibly noticable
 
i only mentioned it because .9 tons is not really that bad...i wish my place was that good...my soil needs 3 tons to the acre...i'm working on mine too...
 
What does lime cost in your neck of the woods , I was floored yesterday when I was told by the feed store fertilizer dealer he had just priced lime at $225 a ton that is not the applied cost. My test showed it needed 1 ton to acre, this is in Central Tx. I think it is time to re-evaluate my soils and grasses and stocking rate, then establish grasses that are adapted to the soil and not plant hybred grasses and try to adapt the soil to the grass, if a person wants to make money off of $400 to $500 calves we are going to have to operate as cheaply as possible, in our area people stock their places to the maxium with no excess grass, this damages the root system and the grasses slowly die out then the weeds take over, and when the first frost comes they have to feed every bite they eat till spring. When it takes 4 round bales to carry a cow through the winter and hay from $70 to $100 a bale , thats $280 to $400 per cow wheather she calves or not for who has a 100% calf crop, then you add in all other costs mineral,proteins, medicines, interest on borrowed money to operate, then you sell a calf for $400 to $500 so where's the profit. But we all hang in there because it's like an adiction there is no cure for till we go broke.
 
cowboy43":2hhf0ata said:
What does lime cost in your neck of the woods , I was floored yesterday when I was told by the feed store fertilizer dealer he had just priced lime at $225 a ton that is not the applied cost. My test showed it needed 1 ton to acre, this is in Central Tx. I think it is time to re-evaluate my soils and grasses and stocking rate, then establish grasses that are adapted to the soil and not plant hybred grasses and try to adapt the soil to the grass, if a person wants to make money off of $400 to $500 calves we are going to have to operate as cheaply as possible, in our area people stock their places to the maxium with no excess grass, this damages the root system and the grasses slowly die out then the weeds take over, and when the first frost comes they have to feed every bite they eat till spring. When it takes 4 round bales to carry a cow through the winter and hay from $70 to $100 a bale , thats $280 to $400 per cow wheather she calves or not for who has a 100% calf crop, then you add in all other costs mineral,proteins, medicines, interest on borrowed money to operate, then you sell a calf for $400 to $500 so where's the profit. But we all hang in there because it's like an adiction there is no cure for till we go broke.
Reverify the quote. I'll bet that is for a load (approx 12-16 tons depending on truck) Last I had spred was around $27 a ton/spread.
 
That's why I was surprised because a couple years ago I priced at 20 something but the way things have been going up I didn't question it, I will have him to recheck but I do know that is what he said because I said my gosh that's 225 an acre plus application and he said that's right, he must have misunderstood something which is out of character for him but all people make mistakes.Thanks for answers
 
cowboy43":p2feomyj said:
That's why I was surprised because a couple years ago I priced at 20 something but the way things have been going up I didn't question it, I will have him to recheck but I do know that is what he said because I said my gosh that's 225 an acre plus application and he said that's right, he must have misunderstood something which is out of character for him but all people make mistakes.Thanks for answers

May be a decimal point issue. $22.5 sounds about right. I paid $22/ton spread this yr.
 
Your fertilize guy wasn't talking about the PELLETIZED lime was he if so yes the prices are alot higher on that as it is a quick release type but in actuality it does not provide any long term benefit
The manufactures of it say if you need a ton of lime per acre you only have to use 200lbs of this stuff

Alot of the guys around here thought it was great till they took a soil test a yr later and found they were in worse shape than before they spread it
 
cowboy43":zfgrdq75 said:
What does lime cost in your neck of the woods , I was floored yesterday when I was told by the feed store fertilizer dealer he had just priced lime at $225 a ton that is not the applied cost. My test showed it needed 1 ton to acre, this is in Central Tx...

That $225/ton sounds like a "Pell Lime" price and not what you need. That is pelletized and a different product with different row crop uses.

As posted here, Most "ag lime" goes for $12-20/ton spread. Yoou get it mostly from the dirt guys rather than the feed store. There are folks who specialize in spreading ag lime. Big trucks!

An important feature of "lime" however is the coarsness or fineness of the grind. A ton/a of fine "80 mesh" screen lime will change your soil pH much sooner than a ton/a of "40 mesh" screen lime, etc

The finer grind may make a significant difference for next growing season. A coarser lime may take several years to make the same change.

If you have a pH problem apply the finest mesh lime you can. There are also differences in the Mg content of some limes but that is another post and somewhat out of my area of expertise.

As for the origiinal "0.9" ton/a acre....at maybe $16-18/ton spread on a fine lime I would put more down - maybe 1.5 ton/a to make it worth the inevitable soil compaction caused by heavy lime trucks. jmho.

Jim
 
I guess I'm somewhere in the middle on prices. I paid $42 a ton-spread and I put out around 1.5tons to the acre. I would love to pay 20 something dollars a ton, but I haven't seen it below the 30's for a loooong time.
 
killingtime":1kt3uh9e said:
I guess I'm somewhere in the middle on prices. I paid $42 a ton-spread and I put out around 1.5tons to the acre. I would love to pay 20 something dollars a ton, but I haven't seen it below the 30's for a loooong time.

Pricing on lime varies quite a bit because of where you are located and for logical reasons. Lime is a quarried or mined natural product that does not occur everywhere. If the source is a ways away from you then there is significant trucking expense involved especially since we are talking TONS per acre, not pounds per acre like many fertilizers.

1.5 tons/acre is a good amount to put out, especially if it is a fine grind. Enough to make a difference but not enough to cause problems. I have actually had times when I've put out 5-6 tons per acre on ground that was neglected.

Jim
 
killingtime":2paotpfl said:
I guess I'm somewhere in the middle on prices. I paid $42 a ton-spread and I put out around 1.5tons to the acre. I would love to pay 20 something dollars a ton, but I haven't seen it below the 30's for a loooong time..

I called last week to get a quote from two local co-ops and one was $48/Ton and the other $56/Ton spread and everything. So our prices are pretty similar. I did my test last month and we need about 1200Ibs an acre on most our fields. So we are going go the cheap route :| and do 600 an acre this year and see what the test requires next year.
 
well I had the dealer recheck with his supplier this morning and it will be more like $50 a ton applied, somewhere down the line something got mis-quoted just shows a person needs to double check if it does not sound correct.
 
cowboy43":1a0rpsko said:
well I had the dealer recheck with his supplier this morning and it will be more like $50 a ton applied, somewhere down the line something got mis-quoted just shows a person needs to double check if it does not sound correct.
How many acres do you want to lime?
 
Cowboy If you are in Central Texas your lime will probably come from Nolanville. I paid $30/ ton spread in March 08 on my place outside of Hubbard. The man that put it out was from Thorton. The best money I have spent. PM me if you want his number.
 
I am about 70 miles south of Georgetown at Lockhart so the lime would come from there, the applicator would come from Weimar about 60 miles east toward Houston, I am only doing 10 acres so I need to contact him to see if he will make a 120 round trip for 10 acres, he is the only applicator I have been able to locate and I have never dealt with him, not many land owners do lime applications in our area and there is alot of acid soil in Caldwell County.
 

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