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Post by kevlar on Sept 26, 2022 20:12:37 GMT -6
We don’t do a lot of soil testing, most years I can tell what’s left there anyway. We’re fortunate though to have soil that has good levels of most nutrients. I prefer doing tests in the spring as I find things can change a bit depending on the weather in the fall and what kind of spring we have. It’s sometimes not possible to get a spring test done in time though. We don’t really base what we put down with the crop on the test, use it more as a confirmation that we’re doing the right thing. We put down the nutrients the crop needs for what we’re shooting for, and if the conditions are right, the crop will be able to access the nitrogen that is mostly tied up in organic matter giving us a yield boost. Not what most agronomist want to hear, but it seems to work for us. .
Guys dealing with soils short on nutrients no doubt benefit more from soil testing.
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Post by garyfunk on Sept 26, 2022 20:42:27 GMT -6
I was shocked how low my nitrogen levels are this fall on my oat ground. Got my tests back today and had a whopping 7lbs in the 0-15 inch range. less in the 0-6 inch range ( 3lbs). I will be putting soybeans on this land because the thought of putting canola on this land and putting 160lbs n down is not making a whole lot of sense now. Some of these same fields last year showed upwards of 70lbs available in the top 6 inches. At least if you do the math 70lbs of n in the soil and another 70lbs added got a 200 bpa oat crop this year. Slow release fertilizer might have to be a real option next year to get the best bang for your buck. Interestingly my phosphate and other key nutrient levels all showed very high ppm. Oats are very good at finding N (and good at using it!😄).
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Post by kenmb on Sept 27, 2022 7:51:34 GMT -6
This year I turned two quarter sections into a half by seeding it all to barley. This is where my barley on barley was done and the other was pea stubble. The pea stubble did run about 5 BPA more while trying to make loose allowances for more hail on the barley stubble portion. It was a noticeably better stand on pea stubble, however heads didn't fill to their full capability to really drive it home. I do however put a lot of phos down with me peas since I have cart room so that being available for the next crop is a factor. Also, I don't think barley on barley is good soil biology vs barley on peas. So I suppose many factors at play and tough to sort out what is true. If peas are not really adding nitrogen to the soil then may as well skip the innoculant. And I won't say this is not correct, I have my suspicions that doing so is not a bad idea. If I am seeing 5 BPA difference and I can come up with a few other factors other than simply saying it's the innoculant on pea seed being the main driver, how much is really true. And then we have to keep in mind how each year is different and if it works one year, does that mean it holds true 8 out of 10 years or 1 out of 10.
Like Kevlar, I will skip soil tests this year. I will put phos down at a high build rate and then nitrogen is more about whether I want to push for extra yield or play for more conservative yield. I have been soil testing about 35% of acres each year just to give me a general idea where things are at, what the trend is looking like, and where I am short. Next year I plan to be heavy on phos regardless of price and nitrogen I will apply at a higher end rate for me and see how the year plays out. Phos was cut back to removal rate this year due to high price with hopes price comes down the next year however the plan was to never cut back 2 years in a row. Price will be irrelevant the second year.
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Post by garyfunk on Sept 27, 2022 8:08:24 GMT -6
I used to soil test every acre every year (probably from 2005 to 2016) and the results started getting predictable so I quit. Ya, you can roll your eyes, but I just use removal rates and what I used to see for field variability. Some land you can't skimp on the phos if you want any kind of yield. After this year where the crop got all the moisture it needed here, there won't be much left. We will have to put on a full nutrient package next spring.
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Post by meskie on Sept 27, 2022 8:48:01 GMT -6
Our land is so variable that testing makes sense to us. But we have tested for a lot of years and are getting a few trends so up. Soil testing and fertilizer recommendations are all together along with our VR prescriptions. I know guys who used to test everything but the agronomist recommended only doing tests every 2 or three years cause it was very predictable.
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