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Forage Focus: To Fertilize Or Not To Fertilize?
This winter locally, as we've cussed and discussed the cost of feed, fertilizer, land rent, machinery and anything else a farmer might purchase these days, one of the "cost saving" measures I've heard suggested is skipping fertilizer this year on hay and pasture land.
Are you skipping fertilizer on your corn ground this year too? I doubt it. If a recent soil test suggests you need fertilizer or lime on hay and pasture land, then don't think for a minute it's anything but voodoo economics if you don't apply it to your hay lands either. After all, an "average" Ohio annual hay yield of 3 tons per acre removes the same amount of potash from the soil as a SIX HUNDRED (yes, that's 600) bushel corn crop!
At a minimum, if fertilizer prices dictate that you simply can't fertilize all the hay and pasture land that a soil test indicates need be, take the resources available and use them strategically. Practicing efficient pasture grazing management over the years distributes and recycles manure nutrients very nicely. Your soil test may indicate that applying P & K is likely your lowest fertilizer priority on pasture land.
If limited resources dictate you only apply nitrogen fertilizer one time during the year, do it after the first growth flush is over in late May or June, or wait until August when you begin to stockpile. However at the same time, remember that research suggests that each of the first 40 pounds of nitrogen applied to a grass field returns up to an additional 54 pounds of dry matter. With forages valued at ~ 5 cents per pound right now, that indicates the breakeven price you could pay for up to 40 pounds of nitrogen per acre is $2.70 a pound! Or, looking at it the other way, an investment of 40 pounds of nitrogen at 5 cents per pound (total cost per acre= $2.00) on a grass hay field will return more than a ton of extra forage.
Fertilizing hay ground must be the highest priority, especially replacing P & K. Each ton of hay which is removed from a hay field takes with it 14 pounds of P2O5 and 50-55 pounds of K20. Replacing the nutrients removed by hay harvest must remain the highest priority to maintain long term stand health and productivity of perennial hay fields.
Source: Stan Smith, Fairfield County, OSU Extension PA
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