Moving Past the Routine: Precision Management for Alfalfa and Hay Crops

Soil testing is made up of four distinct activities, collecting the soil sample, analyzing the sample, interpreting the results, and providing fertilizer recommendations that account for the fertilizer source, timing of application, rate of application, and placement of the fertilizer. Traditionally, collecting a soil sample was viewed as the limiting step because a recommendation is only as good as the sample that it is based on. With traditional soil sampling, we attempt to represent the field’s average nutrient status. Typically, you would want one sample for every 10 – 20 acres. A sample should be collected to the depth prescribed by the lab (4” for untilled fields). If areas within a field are very different due to previous management or natural features, such as topography or soil texture, split the field up and collect samples from each distinct area. Each sample sent to the lab should be a composite of 12 or more soil cores