72000 lbs of nitrogen over every acre and we still buy nitrogen. Fixing our soil biology should be our priority, not buying inputs. Also adding nitrogen to soils feeds bacteria and causes a boom but it kills everything else that feeds on the bacteria so there is inefficient turn over of the nitrogen consumed.
I’m open to what others are doing. You do you, I’ll do me. Not watching, but the headline is catchy enough, so I’ll give you my 2 cents. Nitrogen without the right amount of carbon is pissing in the wind. Let me say this, I’ve grown a lot of 200 bushel organic corn organically, without tillage, without inputs besides livestock and cover crops. 70-80 acre soybeans, 120 bushel wheat too. I’m far more happy, pulling back the population, putting it in on twin 20 spacing, shortening the RM’s down, and under controlled traffic, farming 13 1/3’ strips of 120-140 bushel corn, and 40-50 bushel beans, and 1800 lb per acre cereals, and pulse crops. I can offset the revenue with protein/poultry produced on the same acres. I’m not all squeaky clean, and pristine. I raise calves with genetics best suited for the conventional market. Get rid of them before they get too big, they end up in feed lots. I can only market so much of the ideal grass fed, lighter animals. I’m practical, not an idealist to a fault. I’ll tell you another thing, you can do a darn good job in low soil organic matter ground. It’s just harder to do. But I’d trade any of the outlying ground I have for ground in tight with a larger grouping of my ground, even if it means losing a decade plus of soil building. It won’t benefit me, but I’m thinking 2-3 + generations down the road. Long after I’m dead.
72000 lbs of nitrogen over every acre and we still buy nitrogen. Fixing our soil biology should be our priority, not buying inputs. Also adding nitrogen to soils feeds bacteria and causes a boom but it kills everything else that feeds on the bacteria so there is inefficient turn over of the nitrogen consumed.
This guy must work for a nitrogen company!
Obviously.
I’m open to what others are doing. You do you, I’ll do me. Not watching, but the headline is catchy enough, so I’ll give you my 2 cents. Nitrogen without the right amount of carbon is pissing in the wind. Let me say this, I’ve grown a lot of 200 bushel organic corn organically, without tillage, without inputs besides livestock and cover crops. 70-80 acre soybeans, 120 bushel wheat too.
I’m far more happy, pulling back the population, putting it in on twin 20 spacing, shortening the RM’s down, and under controlled traffic, farming 13 1/3’ strips of 120-140 bushel corn, and 40-50 bushel beans, and 1800 lb per acre cereals, and pulse crops. I can offset the revenue with protein/poultry produced on the same acres.
I’m not all squeaky clean, and pristine. I raise calves with genetics best suited for the conventional market. Get rid of them before they get too big, they end up in feed lots. I can only market so much of the ideal grass fed, lighter animals. I’m practical, not an idealist to a fault.
I’ll tell you another thing, you can do a darn good job in low soil organic matter ground. It’s just harder to do. But I’d trade any of the outlying ground I have for ground in tight with a larger grouping of my ground, even if it means losing a decade plus of soil building. It won’t benefit me, but I’m thinking 2-3 + generations down the road. Long after I’m dead.
How we can assess Organic mater content from the soil sample? Not humic acid.
"Fertilizer makes happy fathers, but sad sons."
Thought everyone is no till