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Little River, TX | Some where there is a need to delegate responsibility as well as duties. Mine is a one man operation, and I forget the need to delegate.
Still I would not intrust something I consider to be important to a hired man in another company, a company who is wanting to sell fertilizer. Then have that (Other Company) pick the Lab I find bothersome. Our challenge, here, is our soils do not fit the little boxes assigned by the soil science community. Because none, and I do mean none, of the soils labs have run fertility trials in this soil, at least not in the last 50 or 60 years.
I really only have two soil types, and there is little consistent variability from one end of a field to the other.
Something I do that is a bit odd, is I divide a field into three parts. I pull a bad full soil sample in each part. The results are averaged. In most cases, I pull soil samples during the growing season, and gather plant samples at each stop for a soil probe. This way my soil analysis and plant analysis will correlate.
Phosphate can be a challenge what with an 8 pH, 50 CEC, & 12% free lime.
Potassium levels must be in the 450 ppm K range if I want the plant analysis to be sufficient.
Oklahoma is not alone but they sectioned off a 7 ft by 70 ft block of uniform looking bermudagrass sod. They then divided that into 490 (1 Ft ) blocks. Then they ran soil samples on each block and measured the amount of dry matter grown on each block. Results were a map made up of squiggly lines depicting dramatic variability.
As a project try this. The next time soil samples are pulled have who ever does the sampling, pull several samples in one soil type, say 10 feet difference to the right and left of the primary sample. You will see that a uniform soil type really is not a homogenous mixture.
My AG Degree from a State Teachers College is over 50 years old. About 30 years ago I became disenchanted with the gems of wisdom we here were getting from our state's cow collage, & I started reading everything I could get my hands on. Much of the information I now believe to be valid has been after I started using the internet. Just do not ask me any questions obout TV shows as I seldom indulge.
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Soil test
