Fertiliser Usage for 2013

docmartin

Hi all, I need your advice on what i should be doing with my ground at the turn of the year, For the first time in my short farming career I'll be organised to get going in january, I've got my 4wd tractor and i've got my fertileser sower so the farm equipment end of things is coming along nicely.

I don't totally understand what i'm supposed to do though come january,
Is there any type of grassland management calender online i could look at?

I've got a few acres closed off now from the sheep and would like to keep this for ewes with lambs in early april, the closed off land is quite wet at this time so some lads are telling me to spread urea in early febuary, other lads are telling me to lime it instead.

basically i dont have a clue which option is best as i've never done this in about 5years of farming, any advice is greatly welcome. Perhaps its just a trial and error thing for each different farmer.

I'm in south west donegal if that makes a difference, good clay soil, but quite wet at this time

Thanks all for reading

Docmartin

Timmaay

Soil testing would be a start! Total guesswork otherwise!

Username John

docmartin wrote: »

Hi all, I need your advice on what i should be doing with my ground at the turn of the year, For the first time in my short farming career I'll be organised to get going in january, I've got my 4wd tractor and i've got my fertileser sower so the farm equipment end of things is coming along nicely.

I don't totally understand what i'm supposed to do though come january,
Is there any type of grassland management calender online i could look at?

I've got a few acres closed off now from the sheep and would like to keep this for ewes with lambs in early april, the closed off land is quite wet at this time so some lads are telling me to spread urea in early febuary, other lads are telling me to lime it instead.

basically i dont have a clue which option is best as i've never done this in about 5years of farming, any advice is greatly welcome. Perhaps its just a trial and error thing for each different farmer.

I'm in south west donegal if that makes a difference, good clay soil, but quite wet at this time

Thanks all for reading

Docmartin

Hi Doc,

How are you doing?

I don't really put out much fertiliser, so I wouldn't have a lot of experience with it...

But I'll throw in a few comments
Soil testing - Yes, costs about 12.50 a sample, but it will tell you what the ground is low in.
Lime vs Fertiliser - Depends on soil results, as they will say how much lime you would need. My understanding fertilser wont work as well if you are really lacking in lime.
UREA - I put out a small bit of urea last Spring, and it did some good. But as I put out so little fertiliser, I think my land would have benefited more from a fertiliser like 10-10-20 or similar. (Soil tests showed I am low in P & K)
Grass need - I put out UREA last year in the springtime, cos I was afraid I would be short of grass. I put out 10-10-20 in October, for the same reason of trying to push on grass so I would have enough for the winter. I have way too much grass in the summer, so I don't put out fertilser then...
Closing fields - Fields need to be closed off after putting put fertiliser (Some people will say they don't, but I think if you put it out, and not close up the field, then you are not giving the grass a chance)

I am lambing in March / April, and am starting to close off paddocks now. Hopefully I'll have enough grass to do til then

Come Jan, I will see how things are going
- if I feel I need to put out some fertilser (if the fields are still very bare looking)
- and if the weather is good enough for it to do some good
then I might put some out...

Lastly - I think fertiliser is expensive, you would want to be sure you are getting your money back from it... IMO, but I am mean too

Not sure my post helped

docmartin

Username John wrote: »

Hi Doc,

How are you doing?

I don't really put out much fertiliser, so I wouldn't have a lot of experience with it...

But I'll throw in a few comments
Soil testing - Yes, costs about 12.50 a sample, but it will tell you what the ground is low in.
Lime vs Fertiliser - Depends on soil results, as they will say how much lime you would need. My understanding fertilser wont work as well if you are really lacking in lime.
UREA - I put out a small bit of urea last Spring, and it did some good. But as I put out so little fertiliser, I think my land would have benefited more from a fertiliser like 10-10-20 or similar. (Soil tests showed I am low in P & K)
Grass need - I put out UREA last year in the springtime, cos I was afraid I would be short of grass. I put out 10-10-20 in October, for the same reason of trying to push on grass so I would have enough for the winter. I have way too much grass in the summer, so I don't put out fertilser then...
Closing fields - Fields need to be closed off after putting put fertiliser (Some people will say they don't, but I think if you put it out, and not close up the field, then you are not giving the grass a chance)

I am lambing in March / April, and am starting to close off paddocks now. Hopefully I'll have enough grass to do til then

Come Jan, I will see how things are going
- if I feel I need to put out some fertilser (if the fields are still very bare looking)
- and if the weather is good enough for it to do some good
then I might put some out...

Lastly - I think fertiliser is expensive, you would want to be sure you are getting your money back from it... IMO, but I am mean too

Not sure my post helped

Cheers John
It was a detailed explanation such as this that i was really looking for, soil testing looks like the first job on the list, so i'll have a look around online for soil testers in donegal i guess,

Thanks for the responses

kennedy138

the golden rule with p and k fert is little and often depending on soil tests as for nitrogen it depends on how much grass you need

Username John

docmartin wrote: »

Cheers John
It was a detailed explanation such as this that i was really looking for, soil testing looks like the first job on the list, so i'll have a look around online for soil testers in donegal i guess,

Thanks for the responses

All you do is post em some samples, so they don't need to be in Donegal. I took mine with a shovel last year, and sent em off in a freezer bag. Not very scientific, a corer or pipe would be better, but as always, I was rushing...

I used these guys before, took about 2 weeks to get a response from what I remember
http://www.fba-labs.com/

I think someone mentioned there is a crowd in Carlow now as well that do tests.

razor8

Oldcastle Labs in Cavan do a very good analysis. you could probably couriers samples to them if no one around you up there

Good loser

Only put out fertilizer to grow the grass you need or can convert into money.

Nitrogen gives best response - the straight nitrogens have x%N written on the bags e.g. urea has 46%N.

The mixtures/compounds are written in the form/sequence NPK (K=potassium). So 10:10:20 is 10%N: 10% P; 20%K.

P and K are needed for long term fertility. So is lime (calcium carbonate). This corrects soil acidity. Aim is to have grassland at pH 6.3 plus. You will need tonnes of lime per acre to correct. Fert goes on at much lower rates.

For you 2 cwt 10:10:20 per acre might suit as soon as ground dries in Spring - after regulations permit.

babybrian

the advice from the 'experts' is little and often with p and k and also that it has better uptake from june onwards.

What we do is go with half bag urea in february(or when soil temp is above 7) when soil is damp and cold and then CAN for say april, may and then its onto the expensive stuff like 19-0-15(we are good for p on our farm) for the remainder of the year. if you have grass in say june/july and dont need nitrogen, then maybe go with 0-7-30 but depends on your soil sample results.

hope this helps, also bring your soil sample thru your co-op or merchant and they will do everything including calculate p, k and lime requirements.

docmartin

Thanks folks, all great advice, need to try to do something this year to give my grassland a bit of a boost. Fed up of struggling every year with poor grass growth

dharn

you wont get much response to any fertilizer in january if temperatures are too low and as you are in donegal i would expect you should keep the manur in the shed until at least mid febuary