Fertilizer preference

jhwis · Jul 9, 2023

What fertilizer mix do generally prefer to put on for grass hay?

Janicholson · Jul 9, 2023

To do it (spend money for material), get a soil test and assess local hay farmers. Asking here is going to get results, but that info is really pretty useless without tests. Sudan grass, orchard grass, and many other grasses also make radical differences in application rates and NPK analysis. Jim

charlie n · Jul 9, 2023

I did 20-10-10 in the spring and 6-24-24 for winter. #300 per acre.

flying belgian · Jul 9, 2023

I do 200# 20-20-20.

john in la · Jul 9, 2023

For $11 the LSU Ag Center test my soil and tells me exactly what to add to the soil.
I save more than $11 by not adding things I do not need so the soil test is basically free.

rustred · Jul 9, 2023

You want nitrogen. So a blend of 40-15-0 is a good pick. At 110 lbs per acre.

rustred · Jul 9, 2023

Plus what jim said, your location and what type of hay. I based mine on brome and Timothy.

Destroked 450 · Jul 9, 2023

Our hay ground needs lots of potash
50-0-100 in the spring, more potash In August if I m taking a second cutting

caterpillar guy · Jul 10, 2023

Without a soil test you are just pouring money down a hole so to speak. Depends on the hay Grass and most other nonlegume hays will need the nitrogen listed by others here. Legumes will make their own nitrogen so you don't need to add much if any nitrogen. Alfalfa ,clovers and beans are legumes. So if you have those then you want something like a 0-14-42 or just straight potash. Ad some boron and zinc to the fertilizer unless your test says not to and sulfur is good too. See it is easy to spend your money.LOL

Traditional Farmer · Jul 10, 2023

Lime in my area will be the most cost effective thing to put on hay and pasture land.

Texasmark · Jul 10, 2023

Anything green loves N and fruit and flowers P. If you don't believe me look at the contents of Miracle-Grow plant food in the yellow and green or yellow and pink containers.

Besides, what do wheat, corn, and sorghum/sudan (and surely others not local to me) planters use to top dress their crops after the plant is established (as too much at planting would inhibit seed maturity)...you guessed it.....N.

RJKeith · Jul 10, 2023

Exactly! The preference is what ever the soil test tells you. And the soils test report is specific to the crop.

coonie minnie · Jul 10, 2023

Agree with those that say get a soil test. Being you are in WI, you will likely need N and K, but how much will be determined by a soil test and yield expectations. I'm also thinking if you are in WI right now, the number 1 thing you will need is rain.

grayrider · Jul 10, 2023

Around here, folks use chicken litter. Although a major drawback will be unwanted weeds from using it. I used to let a guy fertilize my pasture with chicken litter and the hay production more than tripled but its taken me several years to get my field back in ideal condition where I like it with nothing but Bahia grass.

WNYBill · Jul 10, 2023

Might want to check the ph, if your ph is low all the fertilizer in the world is a waste. Just read somewhere that hay depletes the potash in the soil. At the price of fertilizer, a soil test is cheap.

Destroked 450 · Jul 10, 2023

(quoted from post at 08:03:55 07/10/23) Around here, folks use chicken litter. Although a major drawback will be unwanted weeds from using it. I used to let a guy fertilize my pasture with chicken litter and the hay production more than tripled but its taken me several years to get my field back in ideal condition where I like it with nothing but Bahia grass.

I use chicken litter myself and it is a great fertilizer, however for multiple hay cuttings in my area more K needs to be added after first cutting
I used chicken litter on my ground for many years until high P levels became an issue, now we only spread N and K commercial fertilizer on those fields until P levels are lower
I use my chicken litter on rented ground and any of my fields that test low enough to use it
Chicken litter does not induce weeds, they are already there, but once the hay is cut the litter provides nutrients to the weeds to help them get a jump on the grass, spot or whole field spraying for weed control before the weeds produce seeds will reduce the weed problem

BarnyardEngineering · Jul 10, 2023

There has to be a "You won't be wasting your money if you put X pounds of A-B-C fertilizer down," regardless of soil conditions.

I put 150lbs per acre of 15-15-15 down on my hay fields last year and got an incredible 2nd cut off my new seeding. 70 4x4 round bales of clover mix off of 12 acres. Considering the plants growing at that point were mere seeds on April 29th, that's a bumper crop.

Dumb luck, or "can't hurt?" You make the call.

Buckhammer · Jul 10, 2023

You need to do a soil test first.

Fertilizer preference

jhwis

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Janicholson

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charlie n

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flying belgian

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john in la

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rustred

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rustred

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Destroked 450

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caterpillar guy

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Traditional Farmer

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Texasmark

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RJKeith

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coonie minnie

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grayrider

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WNYBill

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Destroked 450

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BarnyardEngineering

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Buckhammer

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