# Thoughts on ag lime vs pelletized ag lime



## carver92 (Jan 7, 2022)

What are your thoughts on pelletized vs regular ag lime? I've never really dealt with any pelletized, but lately it has been a huge hassle dealing with our local supplier/ spreader. So i am venturing and thinking about trying the pelletized because I can just spread it myself and wont have to deal with the hassle it has become to get anything done. Also if anybody has used it, what kind of spread ratio was used. I have been told around 1/10 the rate of normal ag lime?


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

carver92 said:


> What are your thoughts on pelletized vs regular ag lime? I've never really dealt with any pelletized, but lately it has been a huge hassle dealing with our local supplier/ spreader. So i am venturing and thinking about trying the pelletized because I can just spread it myself and wont have to deal with the hassle it has become to get anything done. Also if anybody has used it, what kind of spread ratio was used. I have been told around 1/10 the rate of normal ag lime?


We use pelletized lime in places where the trucks can't go. I think regular ag lime is more cost efficient, but am told it is not as fast acting as pelletized lime. I'm also told pelletized lime is pretty fast acting, so if you want to raise the ph for the upcoming season, it will do so better than ag lime. I've read that some folks on short term rented land will use pelletized lime.

My overall preference is ag lime.

I'm no expert - take what I say with a grain of salt.

Good luck,
Bill


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## carver92 (Jan 7, 2022)

VA Haymaker said:


> We use pelletized lime in places where the trucks can't go. I think regular ag lime is more cost efficient, but am told it is not as fast acting as pelletized lime. I'm also told pelletized lime is pretty fast acting, so if you want to raise the ph for the upcoming season, it will do so better than ag lime. I've read that some folks on short term rented land will use pelletized lime.
> 
> My overall preference is ag lime.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info. I have heard the same from other people, we have always used regular ag lime, just having difficulties with getting anyone to spread it.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

VA Haymaker said:


> We use pelletized lime in places where the trucks can't go. I think regular ag lime is more cost efficient, but am told it is not as fast acting as pelletized lime. I'm also told pelletized lime is pretty fast acting, so if you want to raise the ph for the upcoming season, it will do so better than ag lime. I've read that some folks on short term rented land will use pelletized lime.
> 
> My overall preference is ag lime.
> 
> ...


I second Bill's comments. I use it in small areas like paddocks or whatever. Way too pricey to use in bulk.


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

One must be wary of testimonials posted on the Internet or elsewhere. Certainly, pelleted lime is a fine lime as it needs to be in order to create the pellet. Any claim that pelletized lime is much more efficient than ag lime may be true if you are comparing it to regular aglime that has an effective calcium carbonate equivalence (ECCE) of about 62 percent. What is left out of the equation is that when spreading pelletized lime, the pellets don't provide full soil coverage and melt in place to provide a localized concentration of lime, leaving the interval between pellets un-limed. A better option, if it is available, is to spread 95 to 100% ECCE lime containing about 10% moisture to keep it from blowing beyond the spread pattern. This high ECCE lime is sufficiently fine so that nearly all of it passes a 60-mesh screen. Ag lime that passes a 60-mesh screen is considered 100% effective. If your only alternative is to spread the regular ag lime (about 62 ECCE), that limestone will contain some particles that are sufficiently large that they will be relatively ineffective at reacting to neutralize soil acidity, regardless of how long they will remain in the soil. If using the high ECCE limestone the application rate will be lower because it is more reactive. Some soil testing labs make limestone recommendations based on application of 100% ECCE limestone. In that situation, if your only option is to spread the lower ECCE limestone, ask your limestone distributor for the ECCE of the limestone he will spread. By dividing the ECCE of that limestone into 100, a rough adjustment can be made to determine the rate of the lower ECCE limestone to apply. For example, 100 divided by 62 indicates that the rate of the lower ECCE limestone to apply is about 1.6 times higher than if the 100% ECCE limestone were available to apply. By using this adjusted rate, a sufficient amount of the applied ag lime will be equal the fine material in the high ECCE limestone.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

My fertilizer/herbicide applicator owner is promoting some form of liquid lime. I know no other info other than we briefly discussed the cost which was $50/acre


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## carver92 (Jan 7, 2022)

Tx Jim said:


> My fertilizer/herbicide applicator owner is promoting some form of liquid lime. I know no other info other than we briefly discussed the cost which was $50/acre


Thanks, I haven't heard anything about it. Ill try to look into that option also


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## PaulN (Mar 4, 2014)

Liquid lime may give you a temporary boost, but it must be applied every year, and it will not raise your PH. 








Liquid Calcium Study Shows Little pH Effect


Several years ago, No-Till Farmer posted on its web site a university article titled “Beware of Alternative Ag Lime Product Claims” and received a number of reader comments complaining the science behind the article was wrong.



www.no-tillfarmer.com


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## ACDII (Oct 1, 2021)

Since I have only 3-4 acres to raise PH by .7, and no one wants to either deliver or spread it, I can get 40 lb bags of pelletized lime from Home Depot. I don't know what the coverage is though, so no idea how many I would need. Based on what the bag stats, 40 lb's covers 5000 SQFT, so a 40 bag pallet would suffice, but is that enough? I was considering liquid calcium, but it would just be a quick raise that will diminish quickly and would need to be reapplied twice or 3 times a year. 

The PH from the samples shows 5.7 - 6.1, BUT I gave 4 samples, 2 were tested and no clue which samples were used so no idea where it needs more and less.


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## PaulN (Mar 4, 2014)

Lime application rates are usually expressed in "Tons per Acre". I don't see were a few bags will do any good.


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## ACDII (Oct 1, 2021)

PaulN said:


> Lime application rates are usually expressed in "Tons per Acre". I don't see were a few bags will do any good.



Yes, 2 tons per acre for ag lime. I would need 150 bags then. It would come out to about $78 an acre. Since I can't locate any lime suppliers that will deliver 6 tons, it is an alternate method. If I got lime for $40 a ton, then it would be $68 an acre instead, saving $35 or so. Downside is, none of the FS around have a lime spreader, so wouldn't be able to spread it even if I could get it delivered. 

A few years ago, would not be so hard, but 2020 really screwed everything up around here.


EDIT: I don't know what is is about my calculator, but it was way off. I put in 150 * 5.48 and got 247. How it divided by 3 I don't know but its $247 a ton, or 50 bags, for pelleted. I switched to a different calculator and got the correct results, $882 for 150 bags. SMDH. I must not have cleared something on it.


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