Soil Fertility and Management

Optimum soil condition is crucial for the success of your forage crops. Soil fertility management is a continuous process that begins long before the establishment of any forage crops.

Use Penn State Extension’s extensive resources on soil health and fertility management for forage crops, covering topics such as soil crusting, compaction, and rill erosion. Find tips on phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen, crop rotation, no-till crops, and nutrient planning.

Soil Fertility for Forages

To make the most of your soil you have to understand what components are essential and how to manage them. Penn State Extension runs a series of Soil Health Twilight Meeting workshops in which you’re given the opportunity to get hands-on with different types of soil and share ideas with others who have an interest in the health of their soil. Being able to assess the quality of the soil is another skill that’s vital. The Penn State Agronomy Guide also has lots of information on soil management.

Soil is a critical resource and the way in which you manage its health can either improve or degrade it. You can use a number of different farming practices to manage your soil, including tilling, cultivating, adding fertilizers and lime, growing cover crops, applying manure, and rotating crops.

There are various ways you can improve the health of the soil; for example transitioning to no-till planting. It’s also possible to use forage crops to help prevent soil erosion and soil compaction. This can be a serious issue if conditions are wet in the fall and spring.

Severe soil compaction as a result of harvesting or manure spreading can severely limit the growth of crops. You can avoid compaction by adopting strategies such as reducing axle load, increasing equipment footprints with the use of tracks or flotation tires, and reducing the number of trips over the field.

Pasture planning is another way to greatly improve forage quality and quantity. Pasture management is something you should give attention to all year round. One aspect you should give high priority to is spring green-up.

Grazing Management and Soil Health

Grazing is a very economical way to feed your animals. However, effective grazing management is essential if you want to avoid problems such as soil compaction. During the summer, in particular, it’s also important to pay attention so you don’t overgraze your pastures.

One way to eliminate overgrazing is to keep an eye on residue heights. During the cool-season, perennial grasses should have a grazing residue height of 3-4”. Whereas during the peak growth season adequate pasture regrowth is still possible around the 3” mark.

Grazing animals on steep slopes can lead to soil degradation. Winter feeding and wet weather can cause severe pasture degradation. Penn State Extension’s Pasture Workshops provide information on how to improve pasture growth, control weeds, and get the most out of the grazing season.

Nutrient Management With Forage Crops

If you want to maintain soil health and soil fertility, understanding the importance of nutrients is key to success. A number of different chemical elements are essential for plant growth; however, the one that needs careful management is nitrogen. The removal of nitrogen from the soil takes place in three different ways – nitrate leaching, denitrification, and volatilization. Nitrogen management is key for optimal forage yield and quality.

One important key for improving forage yield is selecting the right fertilizer or manure. To help with this decision you have to be able to assess nitrogen availability. A process called the nitrogen cycle controls the amount of nitrogen available in the soil. It makes up almost 80% of air, but plants can’t use it until it has been fixed or taken from the air. This can be done industrially, or with the use of certain soil bacteria, together with a forage crop like legumes.

Soil tests can be done and recommendations followed for using organic nutrient sources. An understanding of how different management practices affect soil nitrogen and carbon dynamics is also beneficial. Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus all play an important role in supporting healthy soils and improving crop yields. Researchers continue to look for the best ways to manage the levels of these nutrients in the soil.