Protecting water from manure nutrients would be a lot easier if the weather would cooperate. Most produers know that applying manure on snow or on frozen ground is a bad idea. Nutrients don’t end up where they are needed and more money is spent on compensating with commercial fertilizer. From an evironmental perspective, however, the risk is high […]
Potash levels are falling in some Ontario fields according to soil and tissue samples. K depletion is often a result of not fully accounting for K removal during forage years of the rotation. 3 years of alfalfa can remove more than 900 lb K2O /ac (Table 1). That’s 1500 lb/ac of muriate of potash (0-0-60). […]
Co-Authored by Ian McDonald Background: In 2013 a range of corn fields were sampled to determine what impact the weather has had on the level of residual soil nitrate. This year April was cool and relatively wet while the first half of May came in warm and dry followed by conditions since mid-May that have been […]
The fertilizer value of liquid hog manure is significant and can provide all the required P205 and K20 and most of the nitrogen required by a corn crop. The table below shows the average available nutrients on a per thousand imperial gallons per acre basis. The availability is based on spring applied and incorporated within […]
Manure Injection – New technology = More Options The goal: To increase the opportunities for injecting manure into a variety of growing crops with nutrient placement as similar to commercial fertilizer placement as possible. Traditional manure injection combined manure application with primary or secondary tillage gives the benefit of full disturbance of the soil profile […]
Diagnosing nutrient deficiencies in field crops can sometimes be challenging. That is why I put together the following nutrient deficiency key. Let me know what you think. Click on the above image to download the nutrient deficiency key. […]
With higher land costs, increasing our yields is becoming key to reducing our costs of producing forage, and remaining competitive with corn and soybeans for acreage. Three factors limiting our forage yields are old stands, poor establishment and low soil fertility. Good soil fertility is essential to both yield and persistence of forage crops. Phosphorus […]
Coordinated by: Ian McDonald and Greg Stewart, OMAFRA Background Annually the OMAFRA field crops team surveys a range of corn fields to determine what impact the weather has on the level of residual soil nitrate. In 2012 weather conditions have been almost polar opposite to last year when April was cool and May was wet. […]
Application of manure from animals infected with pathogens is a potential method for spreading infection. This becomes a higher risk when the manure is applied to crops used for animal consumption. Johne’s (yo-nees) Disease is a persistent and debilitating bacterial disease that affects the intestines of ruminant animals, including cattle, goats and sheep. The disease […]
A livestock farmer appreciates the value that manure has to their cropping system. In the past, cash crop producers, who did not have access to such a beneficial organic soil amendment were envious. Now there are options to source and apply various different organic amendments, but with many non-agricultural sourced materials on the market, it […]
The handling of manure is a cost associated with the livestock portion of the farm. Handling manure has many costs connected with it, including equipment purchase and maintenance, the opportunity cost of the time it takes to apply manure to fields, and the liability if something goes wrong and there is a spill. Additional costs […]