Soil Sample Results

[ddd75]

4k in fert on 30 acres is an awful lot dumped at one time.

I'd lime it now and not put any fert on it until spring. then i'd only do 1/2 the rate they said.

I have good luck putting P and K on in the fall. It helps to build the roots up.

yes but his ph is off, that needs corrected first before anything.

 

[ddd75]

4k in fert on 30 acres is an awful lot dumped at one time.

I'd lime it now and not put any fert on it until spring. then i'd only do 1/2 the rate they said.

I was wondering about that. Maybe instead of putting the old standard of triple 19 I could put the mix they recommend, but just not enough to break the bank.

It's never my intent to be contrary, but as someone mentioned, when one runs a test, they will always find something wrong.

I realize one has to put nutrients back, but I also realize that as long as I mow and put something, I'm not going to wake up one morning and it's a barren wasteland just because I haven't put the suggested mix on it. It's always going to have grasss; at least that's been my experience.

Even though some might say it's silly to blindly put triple 19 on it for the last 3 or 4 years, it has gradually improved each year and has doubled its yield from a few years ago, so I don't really feel like what I have done has been a waste.

you need to be putting actual amounts of P , K, and N on, not triple 19. triple 19 is very little of everything.

 

[tom4018]

4k in fert on 30 acres is an awful lot dumped at one time.

I'd lime it now and not put any fert on it until spring. then i'd only do 1/2 the rate they said.

I have good luck putting P and K on in the fall. It helps to build the roots up.

yes but his ph is off, that needs corrected first before anything.

I should have said to lime and put half the P and K on this fall. It has worked for me.

 

[TexasBred]

Soil tests are somewhat like going to the doctor once or twice a year for a checkup when your not sick......they will find something wrong with you.....but to each his own.

It's your responsibility to be able to interpret the results and YOU decide if any amendments are required at all.

As for the original poster, I'd find me another fertilizer dealer. He's trying to rob you. Sure hope he's not a friend.

 

[MtnCows93]

i would put down all the lime and fert the land needs, make it produce as much grass as possible and then add more cows to your heard accordingly

 

[tom4018]

Herofan,
Have you looked at UK's AGR-1 and compared what the dealer suggested to your soil test? Would you care to share your test results?

 

[littletom]

Soil tested about 45 acres this fall just prior to reseeding to thicken the stand; university soils lab did the analysis. Did not call for any lime... but pH is right on the line, and I'm seeing quite a lot of broomsedge in some of the paddocks. Didn't spread lime right now, but I think I'll probably have 2T/acre spread next spring, despite their recommendation. The sedge tells me that it needs it.

Ph is not the only thing that causes broomsedge. I have it all over one field that is 6.8. It is pretty low in P

 

[herofan]

Herofan,
Have you looked at UK's AGR-1 and compared what the dealer suggested to your soil test? Would you care to share your test results?

I'll share when I can. My brother has the actual results with him and I can't recall the specifics.

 

[tom4018]

Herofan,
Have you looked at UK's AGR-1 and compared what the dealer suggested to your soil test? Would you care to share your test results?

I'll share when I can. My brother has the actual results with him and I can't recall the specifics.

If you can get the actual P and K levels that can be used to go by UK guidelines.

 

[herofan]

As for the original poster, I'd find me another fertilizer dealer. He's trying to rob you. Sure hope he's not a friend.

So, are you saying there is no way that 30 acres of fescue and orchard grass could require $4,000 worth of fertilizer and lime?

 

[kenny thomas]

I think it easily could need that much. 60 ton of lime(2ton per acre) would be at least $1200. That leaves $2800 for the fertilize.
Spend what you feel it ok but as stated do the lime first. Then add what's recommended as you can afford it.

 

[Stocker Steve]

As for the original poster, I'd find me another fertilizer dealer. He's trying to rob you. Sure hope he's not a friend.

So, are you saying there is no way that 30 acres of fescue and orchard grass could require $4,000 worth of fertilizer and lime?

No. There are certainly ways to roll up inputs to total hundreds of dollars per acre.

The point is that this is unlikely to be justified by the value of the increased production, and zero chance of being the most economical approach.

When the student is ready - - the teacher will appear.

 

[Dave]

Depending on exactly how low the pH is just raising the pH will increase the amount of available P there will be in the soil. At a low pH there is P present that won't show in the test results. This is true with other nutrients too but not to the extreme it is with P. This is one of the reasons that raising the pH will have such a positive affect on yield.
I also would not have a fertilizer salesman read a soils test. It should be relatively easy to find someone to look at your test results who will explain it to you without the conflict of interest of selling you fertilizer. Cooperate extension, university, conservation district, or a CCA who doesn't work for a fertilizer company would be where I would look.

 

[Texasmark]

I don't like having the people who sell the fertiliser telling me what I need from the soil test. I don't think there could be a bigger conflict of interest. If your pH is low I would lime it now and just add your Nitrogen in spring. Get the soil test analysis and make a judgement yourself if anything else looks urgent otherwise attend to them in the following year.

Ken

Well I took my results and tried to calculate it on my own and gave up. Went to the fert supplier and he put it on his computer and it spit out the answers and they went electronically to the loader. Happy with his decision. I looked them over and didn't have a problem with their ratios.

Like you are getting 2 tons of NPK plus the little guys and N is xx-xx-xx and so on. % of this into a % of that for the total........daaaaa.

 

[True Grit Farms]

As for the original poster, I'd find me another fertilizer dealer. He's trying to rob you. Sure hope he's not a friend.

So, are you saying there is no way that 30 acres of fescue and orchard grass could require $4,000 worth of fertilizer and lime?

Lime is $35 a ton acre spread, and 21-11-17 fertilizer is $400 per ton spread around here. Spreading 350 lbs to the acre, at one time is about all the ground can handle.

 

[1982vett]

As for the original poster, I'd find me another fertilizer dealer. He's trying to rob you. Sure hope he's not a friend.

So, are you saying there is no way that 30 acres of fescue and orchard grass could require $4,000 worth of fertilizer and lime?

What does your pencil say. More fertilizer doesn't necessarily mean you will get closer to your 2 cow per acre stocking rate. What I'd be more interested in is what your p&l pencil says.

 

[Jogeephus]

Even though some might say it's silly to blindly put triple 19 on it for the last 3 or 4 years, it has gradually improved each year and has doubled its yield from a few years ago, so I don't really feel like what I have done has been a waste.

Without knowing your pH and having it adjusted properly how would you know if it was a waste or not? The most important thing is to get the pH where it should be as soon as possible because if your pH is off you could be spending money you don't need to spend. Using $300/ton at a soil pH of 6.0 would mean you are only getting use of 89% of your N and 52% of your phosphate so you are spending 20% more on fertilizer than you are getting the benefit of.

Like suggested, get your pH right first then fertilize accordingly. Good luck.

 

[bball]

As for the original poster, I'd find me another fertilizer dealer. He's trying to rob you. Sure hope he's not a friend.

So, are you saying there is no way that 30 acres of fescue and orchard grass could require $4,000 worth of fertilizer and lime?

No. There are certainly ways to roll up inputs to total hundreds of dollars per acre.

The point is that this is unlikely to be justified by the value of the increased production, and zero chance of being the most economical approach.

When the student is ready - - the teacher will appear.

Took me a few years, but I finally have come to grasp this concept..thanks to a few different folks on here explaining it in several different examples. Written gold.

Your last sentence is profoundly correct!

 

[herofan]

Soil Sample Results:

I got this over the phone from my brother,so hopefully I heard correctly and I word it so it makes sense.

Nitrogen, Zinc, and Magnesium are good; none needed.

Ph is 5.8. It recommends 2 ton of lime per acre, 90lbs per acre of P205 and 180lbs per acre of K20.

As for the fertilize guy, he simply told my brother what it would cost to put exactly what they recommended, but he said that was a heck of a lot of fertilizer and said he would back off.

 

[littletom]

I would start with 3 ton of lime.