Mid-County Messenger Page 3 www. midcountycoop. com Spring 2009
Potassium is a critical nutrient for dairy producers. Being one of the three macro nutrients that we regularly apply in the form of fertilizer to fields, potassium plays an integral role in a plants ability to regulate water and maintain stalk quality. Most of the potassium is stored in the leaf and stem components of the plant and little, by comparison is found in the grain; thus the crop removal is relatively low for soybean and corn grain and relatively high for alfalfa, corn silage, or corn and bean straw.
Many dairy farmers know that alfalfa is copious user of potassium, but it also throws a curve ball by being a luxurious consumer of potassium. Think of an alfalfa plant going to the potassium all you can eat buffet, if there is potassium available for the plant, the plant will consume it whether it needs it or not.
Mid-County Agronomy Inoculation: The forgotten soybean bin buster!
Doug Kraska Ag Production Specialist( 952) 466-3730 dougk @ midcountycoop. com
Joe Forner Agronomist( 952) 466-3730 joef @ midcountycoop. com
Hannah Schneider Agronomy Intern
For a 50 bushel soybean crop around 225 pounds of nitrogen are required. About 35 % comes from the soil with the balance from nitrogen fixation. For nitrogen fixation to occur, the nitrogen
My name is Hannah Schneider. I am a sophomore at the University of Minnesota majoring in Applied Plant Science and Agricultural Education. I have always been interested in agriculture and grew up on a hobby farm just south of Cologne, Minnesota. fixing bacteria, known as Bradyrhizobia Japonicum must be established in the soil through seed inoculation.
When Rhizohia bacteria is present in the soil it attaches to the soybean root on new root hairs immediately behind the growing root tip. Within 10-14 days the bacteria will form a nodule. The wart like structure on the soybean root contains a Bradyrhizobia Japonicum colony that grows very rapidly and begins fixing nitrogen at the V2-V3 soybean growth stage.
Fertilization choices
There are two negative effects of this luxurious consumption. The most serious effect is occurrence of milk fever in freshening dairy cows. I think most dairy farmers have had some experience and from what I have gathered, they have adopted practices to mitigate milk fever by carefully watching the rations of their dry cows.
The second issue with excessive potassium uptake is that it may be in the form of commercial fertilizer. With potash prices as high as they are now, this excess fertilizer is in essence lost unless it is returned as manure. Once a cow is milking heavily, she can take in a higher potassium ration as she can excrete the excess in her milk. In essence, a portion of the excess potassium in the field will not end up back on the farm in the form of manure but leave the farm in the form of milk.
Another caveat of potassium is that the concentration of it in the soil is not constant year round. Typically in the spring, the concentration will be higher than late summer. Potassium is naturally released by mineral soils during the freeze and thaw of winter and is also more available to the plant in moist soils than in dry soils. As the growing season progresses,
I plan on obtaining my undergraduate degree in Agricultural Education and Applied Plant Science in the spring of 2011. My interest in agriculture has been shaped by many experiences. This past summer I had the privilege of working at Mid-County Coop as a summer agronomy intern. Working for Mid-County really opened my eyes to all the opportunities agriculture has to offer and really sparked my interest in agronomy. I really enjoyed learning more about agriculture and the knowledge I gained this past summer about weed identification and plant diseases has really been beneficial in many of my courses at the University of Minnesota.
Inoculants can be added as a liquid or a peat based powder to the seed. Some newer products have a PGPR( plant growth promoting rhizobacteria) that stimulate plant growth. Overtime soybean inoculants have produced over a $ 3 return for each $ 1 spent.
Bio-Boost Plus( PGPR) and N-Prove are liquid products and RhizoStick a peat base product are the inoculants we carry at Mid-County. With the purchase of liquid inoculants we have a treater program.
the crop removes a portion of this potassium dropping the concentration in the soil.
There is a wide variety of different theories regarding fertilizing alfalfa. Multiple small applications are widely regarded as being superior to a single large application. Applications made early in the spring before first cut have the least utility, since this is usually when the soil naturally has the highest potassium concentration. Adding fertilizer at this time will do little to increase first cut yield and will elevate the potassium concentration within the forage itself. Applying multiple small applications or spoon feeding potash after first, second, and third cut is the best way to manage potassium for maximum yield and highest quality feed value.
Soil testing and tissue testing are good tools to monitor potassium levels before the hay ever hits the chopper or baler. Using these test results, we can prescribe the right amount of crop nutrients to apply and when and how to apply them for the maximum benefit. With the economics of dairying today, it is imperative that we use all the tools available to us before we make these fertilization decisions.
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It is my career goal that I will be able to use technology, diplomacy, communication, and knowledge to work against hunger and for the development of a stronger, more sustainable agriculture industry. This goal could lead me in many directions and I look forward to the challenge of working in the great and ever-evolving field of agriculture. My greatest desire is to never stop in my pursuit of knowledge; I want a career that advocates me to question, uncover answers, and truly learn everyday.