We used to run with big zones or big grids, and way before that, composite soil tests. DISASTER!! Soil pH is one of the most important things that must be right (or close) if you want great yield. If you don’t have an accurate reading, you’ll mismanage your farm, just like we did. Here’s what happened.

Using zones that were often as large as 20 acres, we thought we had more low soil pH than we did, so we ended up overapplying lime. This cost us money for the lime, hurt our yields, and then we had to spend more money on elemental sulfur to drop the pH. That’s a lose-lose-lose scenario. Fortunately, commodity prices were good so it didn’t break us, but it sure hurt.

Just the other day, we had an agronomist on our radio show from Montana who said, “NO ONE REALIZED WE HAD SO MANY LOW PH SPOTS IN MONTANA UNTIL THE LAST FEW YEARS.” We run into this all the time. I understand how you want to save money by not soil testing or pulling tests every 20 acres or 80 acres, but I will promise you that is costing you money, and perhaps lots of money.

At least once in your farming career, you have to pull soil tests using one-acre grids. Soil tests only cost $12, so it’s no big expense, especially if you do it sporadically. Personally, I’d rather have you pull soil samples less often but do smaller grids or zones when you test.

Using small grids or zones will allow you to find field variability. It will give you the opportunity to cut costs in areas that don’t need lime or elemental sulfur or any other fertility. It will help you invest your dollars where they can make you money. Here are a couple examples.

Low soil pH is an absolute killer for crops like corn and especially alfalfa. If you have a few spots on your farm that are in the 5’s for pH, you are probably losing 30% of your corn yield and 80% of your alfalfa tonnage, not to mention the damage often caused to other crops. Now that we are running small grids on our farm, we can spot treat lime, bringing yields up in the low pH areas without spending money across every acre.

On the high pH side, I get so frustrated by people telling farmers there is no way to change high soil pH. It is not only possible, it can be accomplished soon, if you are committed to it. IF YOUR SOIL PH IS HIGH, SOMETHING IS OUT OF BALANCE. We’ve had it on our farm where we added potassium and dropped pH PERMANENTLY by over half a point. When you fix imbalances, soil pH starts to moderate. You may not have high pH on every acre – or if you do, you might not need the same fix on every acre – but without thoroughly testing, you won’t know.

We can help you with all of this. Our agronomists can show you how to set up grids, how to pull samples correctly, how to save money on your soil testing, and how to use all this information to make cost-saving and/or money-making fertility decisions on your farm. In some cases, we may even be able to pull the samples for you.

HERE’S MY FINAL POINT.

Overapplying nutrients to your field is generally not an issue, as there is only a small chance it will hurt yield. On the other hand, overapplying lime could definitely hurt yield and mess up your soil for many years to come. I learned that lesson the hard way. Please don’t make the same mistake I did. Use small grids or zones before you try to change your soil pH!