Agronomy
Opinions on fallow ground usage
I have the opportunity to add around 200 acres of tilled farm ground that was left fallow over the winter. I'm looking into oats or a spring cover crop mix that I can hay or graze as I have the cattle to utilize the feed. We get around 15" of moisture on an average year but have been in drought for the last 2. Row crops are an option but with grain prices being what they are I'm looking for ways to diversify. Any opinions and advice is appreciated.
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I would second the advice about getting a soil sample. I have worked with customers in the past who picked up new ground only to discover that it was depleted in some area and they had some unexpected inputs to buy to get it to the yield potential they wanted. I'm not making the accusation that this is happening in this case. I don't know anything about your particular situation. But I do know tha...
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First step I think is to soil sample. I would recommend grid soil sampling, maybe two samples per acre if you can afford it. After that, I personally would try planting forages for hay or grazing. Maybe put in some alfalfa, sunflowers, oats, ******* grass, clover. A nice mixture of prairie type grasses. I’m not sure what you’re organic matter levels are in the field, but getting a getting mix of p...
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sounds like a great opportunity, start with a good soil sample program and establish where you are in terms of fertility, target yield, spray weeds early to reduce herbicide demand. Would also encourage you to look into microbial products as fallow fields often lack micro-ryza fungi. Good luck!
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