Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Ask Hayden


A new feature being added to the blog is a segment we call "ask Hayden".  We know that Brian is a lot smarter than his dad, so it follows that Hayden will be even smarter still.  Therefore, we may as well go right to the best and brightest Barker for advice.

The first question is
Dear Hayden, "what do you think about fall fertilizer?"
signed,
Fertilizer is Expensive.

Dear Expensive Fertilizer,
"Fall is a great time to apply potash and phosphate.  It gets an important job done which allows everyone to focus on the job of planting next spring.
A 3 year rotation of corn, soybeans and wheat will remove 170 lbs of phosphorous and 170 lbs of potash per acre.  If you bale the wheat straw, the potash removal increases to 260 lbs of potash.  Three years of corn silage and haylage will remove 175 lbs of phosphorous and 550 lbs of potash.
These nutrients have to be replaced or soil productivity will decline.  It is a long slow decline and difficult to notice, but please pay attention to these nutrients." 

Editor's note - Hayden's generation should not have to pay for our mistakes. 







No comments:

Post a Comment