# Soil test results... help me bring my soil back without breaking the bank.



## RidgeAndValley (Sep 4, 2018)

Finally did soil testing on my hayfield(s). I'm just a hobby farmer with a couple of 5 acre hayfields, but I'd still like to improve both the quality and quantity of hay I've been getting lately. I have 2 areas that really need to be addressed... a weed problem and a soil problem (and I do realize that the 2 are probably strongly linked). I'll address the weed problem in a separate post in the proper subforum, so let me just focus on the soil test and what my goals are first...

For years this land wasn't treated very nicely. Hay was taken off and nothing was put back on. A few years ago when I decided to start making my own hay off of it, I started putting a little fertilizer on it, but it was just a "generic shot of fertilizer"recommended by the local coop and wasn't based on soil tests. It helped, but I still wasn't satisfied. I contacted our county ag extension office for some advice, but they are currently without an ag agent, so I talked with a retired ag agent and he gave me some advice about soil testing and fertilizing.

Soil testing results are based on the goal of producing grass hay. The ag agent I talked with told me that pH wasn't very crucial when growing grass and that my money would probably be better spent on weed control and fertilizer. He recommended getting the P and K on this fall yet, and put 60 lbs. / acre of nitrogen on after the first cutting.

I took the soil test results to the coop and started to do some pricing and I experienced a little bit of sticker shock! After seeing what it would cost to bring all of my hay ground around, I am thinking I am going to focus on my "good hayfield" which is only used for hay and wait on the other field which is usually cut once and then pastured the rest of the summer.

I guess my main questions are... does this sound like a good plan based on the attached report? Is the advice to not add lime good advice or would lime help free up nutrients and help reduce the weed pressure I'm seeing? I'm patient... I don't need to go from poor to excellent all at once, but I would like a plan to move in that "excellent" direction. If I'm reading the soil report correctly, it's calling for a pretty hefty investment in fertilizer / acre not just for this year, but for the next 4 years in a row (does the grass hay really take that much out each year, or are my levels just so low that I am playing catch up for 4 years?).

I'm eager for some feedback and advice (tomorrow I will post in another subforum about my weed problems... didn't get much useful advice from my coop agronomist).

Take care,


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## glasswrongsize (Sep 15, 2015)

PH *will* tie up nutrients (you're on the right track and seem to have researched some!!!), but your ph is close enough to turn loose of the nutrients. Actually, I wish my ph could be neglected and still be as good as yours. If it were my my soil, I would also forgo the lime.

Here, it is recommended to have a 4-year-plan to recover soil health.

Your P and K numbers are extremely low for my type of soil and I did the quick calculations using your numbers on my type of soil (and without accounting for the "take-off" of 2-3 tpa);

I would put on minimum of 70 ppa of P, so their recommendation of 80 is a fair recommendation (which would be @175 ppa of product such as DAP or Super Triple)

On the K numbers, (again for my soil type) I would "recommend" way more than they recommended. I think I know exactly how they came up with the number of 185#; it equates to 300# of potash; 300# of potash is the maximum to put on a field at one time here. So.... you could put on the "maximum allowable" potash for 4 years and STILL be low on potash.

I could see spending (with current local prices) north of 850 clams per acre to heal your soil; that is not even considering the fertilizer being removed by crop. Their recommendations would cost @400 per acre because of not putting on all of the K it needs, but rather putting on all it can stand per year.

Mark

If there are subsequent opinions that differ from mine, it would be wise to follow theirs!!! I'm just working off top of my head and my mind has been muddled the past few days.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Do you have manure available?


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

This year I put on 320# of K, 80# of MAP, 50# AMS and 20# of Boron, per acre (actual pounds in spreader, not units of each, eg 320 x 60% = 192 unit pounds of actual K. BTW, only 2# of actual Boron, being it was at 10% potency). The cost was around $107 per acre (including application charge). My fertilizer goal is for a hay production of 4-5 ton an acre, so your numbers look reasonable, with your given goal. AMS most likely might not be the most efficient way for you to get N, but I was wanting the sulfur (11%, so I got about 1/2# an acre, the cheapest way in MY area).

Where I get my soil tested, they recommend that I split the K, if applying over 400# per acre in MY area. Back in the day when I was in your boat (mined hay fields, needing to be fixed), it was recommend to put half the K on in the spring the other half in early fall. AND to take several years to build your soil profile back up (after all it wasn't all mined in one year usually). IIRC, I needed 700-800# of K, I think I went with a split of 250-300# twice a year for several years, so I didn't have to rob a bank. 

You might need to think of it like this: if applying fertilizer, costing $X per acre, gets you one more ton of hay with a value of $XX, you are $X ahead. Example: hay has a value of $220 a ton ($5.50 for a 50# ss bale) and fertilizer costing $110 an acre, you would be $110 ahead, with your new fertilizer program.

Larry


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

I’m with Cy on trying to find manure. (And I know I already asked about it on your Facebook post but don’t recall getting a reply) I have some rented fields that were completely framed out by the prior. This year I started working on fixing that a little more diligently. Two applications of 9,000 gallons of hog manure in my case goes a long way to adding some nutrients for a lot less money than the numbers discussed above by others


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

Keep in mind, applying fertilizer doesn't make it all available right away anyway. There can be issues with tie-up when levels get so out of whack.

Nitrogen moves thru the soil quite quickly, whereas P and K barely move at all. It takes years upon years to get P and K in the 6-8" mark.


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## Three44s (May 21, 2016)

Out here in the arid west we are used to soil tests with more detail so it is a little hard to make a lot out of your report from my perspectived. A local coop here suggests adding a bit of Boron even to grass stands to aid in nutrient uptake but without a Boron level in your report that could prove unwise on your soil.

I would say that more field men here though are very happy to load you up on Phos but ignore Boron on alfalfa.

The problem here is usually tie up or the leaching of certain nutrients with heavy irrigation. Phos likes to tie up. Boron ties up if it is not washed down first.

I would entertain a more intensive soil test if it were mine and then go close to that N recommendation you have but par the P and K back substantially this year. If the boron is low add a small amount.

As you gain confidence try healthier doses of P and K if you feel it is working for you. A bit of humic acid would make sense as well.

Manure adds salts but you are not where you would have to worry about that for some time. Your synthetic fertilizer needs would also be reduced by adding manure but not eliminated in my opinion.

Three44s


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## FairFrank (Jul 25, 2021)

Hi and I'm sorry for the up! Is it possible to make soil tests by myself using special kits(like this - they promise to test for pH, N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Fe, Mn, B, Cu, Zn, Na)? How credible will the results be? What do you think? 
Afraid of fertilizer upsellers and their ''equipment''.
Thanks in advance
Frank


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## ttazzman (Sep 29, 2019)

If it were my field.....I would apply 1/2 of what they recommend on everything and test again next year......I have found a good stand and decent fertilization will cure a lot of weed problems...poor fields are not fixed in a year


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