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Back to the basics for managing alfalfa

An agronomist wants growers to make sure they are managing alfalfa to its fullest.

Randy Welch with Croplan Winfield United says too often the focus is on technology instead of the basics.

“And the basics are we need to lime soil, which is not very exciting.  We’ve only known about liming for the last 80 years, but there are still farm calls I go on that pH (levels) are not up to what they should be.”

Speaking to Brownfield at the 2018 NAFB Convention in Kansas City, he says potash is another important nutrient.

“You need to be putting 300 to 500 pounds of potash on our high-yielding alfalfa fields.  And then managing phosphorous.  Even though producers use manure on their fields, they are short on phosphorus.”

Welch also mentions sulfur and boron as considerations when evaluating an alfalfa fertility management plan.