How much phosphorous is leaving your fields?

By Gary Sliworsky
OMAFRA Rep.

Do you know how much phosphorus and potassium is leaving your fields during a rotation? Are your nutrient reserves slowly being depleted as average crop yields increase? The answer to these and many questions is just a click away.
In a rotation of silage corn followed by grain corn, followed by 3 years of alfalfa forage mix, it is not impossible for crops to deplete the soil P test by 10 ppm and the potash soil test by 50 ppm. In lbs/acre of fertilizer, that is over one-third of a ton MAP and three-quarters of a ton of 0-0-60 per acre, assuming nothing beyond liquid starter fertilizer was applied at planting.
An interactive version of the OMAFRA field and horticulture crop fertilizer recommendations (including the built-in N-Calculator) will help determine nutrient needs. It also provides a simple method of field and farm record keeping.
NMAN3 Field Management Plan is the newest version of the Nutrient Management Planning software created for Ontario farmers, and is available FREE. This easy-to-use tool has been modified for crop production without regulations. The NMAN3 software can be used on-line or can be downloaded. It is location specific, with the latest updates for average crop yields and crop heat unit ratings. French, English, Metric, Imperial and US units can interchanged on the go. Each field’s information can be filed for post-season modifications or updating.
Have you ever wondered if an application of manure would be economical, and what the expected nutrient contribution could be? The databank of nutrients from manure analysis is also built into the software. For example, if a spring application of liquid hog manure was applied at 5,000 gal/ac and incorporated, the contribution in available nutrients would be about 120 -120 - 100 of N - P205 - K20. The program also helps determine which field will economically benefit the most from that application.
NMAN3 along with Ag Maps www.ontario.ca/agmaps (agricultural information atlas) allows for simplified record keeping and decision making. It’s easy, it’s free, and it can be downloaded by google-ing “NMAN3” NMAN3 Software Application
In other News
Effective April 1, 2012 Premises Identification Numbers can be obtained from the Provincial Premises Registry (PPR), now operated by approved service provider Angus GeoSolutions Inc. (AGSI). The PPR is a Ministry initiative and the only official provincial registry for obtaining Ontario Premises Identification Numbers for agri-food businesses. Premises Identification Numbers issued before April 1, 2012 remain valid; the information is already in the PPR.
Angus GeoSolutions Inc. can be reached by phone at 1-855-697-7743 and online at www.ontarioppr.ca

Dates to Remember
April 21 – RR Cattlemens’ Spring Sale, Stratton