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“I want to plant more alfalfa so I don’t have to fertilize as much.” If I had a nickel for every time I have heard that, I would have a lot of nickels!
Throwing stock onto a pasture and hoping they are getting the correct nutrients is like a shot in the dark. Pasture maintenance and rehabilitation can be a daunting task; establishing a fertilization plan can help take the guesswork and burden out of the equation.
Not many years ago, there were only two people allowed to enter a newly planted Midwest cornfield: One was the person applying the side-dress nitrogen, and the other was the person applying the weed control.
Many dairy farmers rely increasingly on corn silage to meet forage needs. While the efficiencies associated with the production, harvest and storage of corn silage are attractive, a less desirable corollary of this management trend is the increased linkage of manure distribution with production of corn.
This year many areas of the state have been reporting good forage yields so far. As a result, we nutrient removal by the crop may be up significantly too. This combined with increasing fertilizer prices, especially for potassium (K) has raised questions about fertilization of forage stands.
