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| I have an opportunity to get about some turkey litter from some nearby barns. The last test came in at 55-60-35 per ton. The barns need to be emptied out sometime in June. The company selling the manure wants $50 per ton applied and would prefer to pile the manure in the corner of the fields to be spread this fall. The fields are currently planted to soybeans and would be corn in 2017.
Most of the farms I have do not have a history of manure applications only commercial fertilizer. I would be looking at spreading about 2 ton to the acre this fall. I'm told about half of the nitrogen would be available in year one. If I reduce my nitrogen rate next spring by 50 lbs. and value the P & K the same as what I paid for commercial fertilizer last fall, the price per acre isn't much different that my regular program. I will be about 50 lbs of K short and will need to come in with another 100 lbs. of Potash or spread 200 lbs. once every four years to meet my crop removal rates.
My questions are this. What kind of yield response do you think I could get by using an organic form of fertilizer like this which includes micro-nutrients and more plant available forms of NPK than commercial fertilizer? Most of my farms average around 4 to 5% organic matter and have 35 to 40 ppm P205, and 120 to 150 k20.
Concerns are having manure piled in the fields for four months, having to make a tillage application in the fall to incorporate the manure that isn't normally done, and compaction from the higher volume of product.
I'd appreciate any thoughts/suggestions you may have. Location is north central Iowa. I'd be looking at spreading 750 to 1,000 acres of this for corn in 2017.
Thanks, | |
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Turkey Litter
