Soils: March 1998 Other Soils Articles

Each year, it becomes a greater challenge to choose which crop will provide the best income. No doubt forage crops are gaining popularity along with beef production. It seems a sizable portion of the land of this area is well adapted to forage production rather than high input crop production. In this article, I would like to address crop selection for the deeper, more highly productive soils.

Some of those soils have been used for production of peanuts, cotton, soybeans, corn, and alfalfa in the past. Continually, there are questions about what to plant that will generate the necessary income to pay for equipment and land expenses associated with optimizing profit from those soils. Many farmers have developed the land resource to a level that has few limitations from nutrient deficiencies, drainage, weeds, and even irrigation.

One of the best ways to get the "big picture" is gross sales potential. Review the generalized yields and prices outlined below for income potential for each crop.

Which crop has the greatest potential for generating a profit on your place? The depth of soil, its texture, or its topography may limit productivity. On other soils, the productivity is limited mostly by the imagination of the manager. If soils and rainfall were not a limitation, which of the crops above would you grow? Would it be bermudagrass or alfalfa for hay? Would it be soybeans or wheat? Of course, there are factors to consider other than gross sales.

If these questions stimulate some thought, contact one of the agricultural economists at the Noble Foundation or one of the area extension specialists. They have sample budgets that provide guidelines for costs and potential net income for these or other crops that can be customized to your situation. It seems that some of the crops that have the greatest potential for profit are overlooked. Often, the agronomic inputs required to produce the high yields are not applied, and compromised yields are the result.

For instance, alfalfa requires large amounts of phosphorus and potassium for generating maximum yields. When hayed, the nutrients are removed, requiring high rates of the proper fertilizer grades to replace what was removed. Research shows that to overcome short stand life and limited yields, the nutrients required for a given goal must be available in the soil.

Alfalfa hay further offers the opportunity to market direct to the consumer. If a producer is able to generate consistent high quality and volume at a realistic price, customers will return. This develops a competition for the product known as demand. Not all agricultural commodities lend themselves to direct marketing like alfalfa. You have the choice to grow $50 grassy cow hay, or $120 high quality dairy hay. Which one would you rather grow? (Your pencil is not lying to you).

For more information, contact your agricultural economist for budgets, or your agronomist for agronomic information. Give us a call.

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