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WC VA | I have about 25 acres of hilly fields in west-central Virginia that I bought with a house last year that I'd like advice on putting into some sort of soybean rotation. I've made small square bales on the land I've owned for the last several years and it has been a fun little side effort, but this property is too steep in many places to do that with. Besides, who really wants to make 25 acres of small squares, even if you can get $7 a bale?
My neighbor raises beef cattle and grains (soy, wheat, corn, probably others) and he suggested I consider raising soybeans or grazing beef, at least in the steeper field (~12 acres). He said corn wouldn't do because of the slope. I do farming part time for the property tax benefits, as a tax deductible reason to tinker with old tractors, and for the blissful solitude of driving around in circles for hours while appreciating the view of the Shenandoah valley and my handiwork in the form of the 40+ year old tractors I keep running. I'm not interested in cattle, but what about soybeans? The small squares can be a real drag sometimes.
Here are my specific questions:
- what should I do for a rotation? Some kind of winter cover, then beans, repeat? What kind of soil amendments will I need?
- bigger picture, how do I actually do this? Plant cover, spray cover, apply fertilizer, plant beans, spray, combine (windrow then combine?), repeat? All I know is hay and gardening.
- what should I do for a notill planter? I have an IH1486, a White 2-70, and a Case 530. I assume I want a 6 or 8 row (do they make those?) planter and would pull it with my 1486. I figured I'd buy this and plant myself, hire the spraying out, and hire the combining out or buy an older combine. I have another neighbor with chicken houses who will sell me littler, which I can rent a spreader to apply myself. Does this sound reasonable?
What figures should I use to model this?
- cost of seed (per acre)
- cost to hire spraying out
- cost of custom combining for two small (~10ac) fields that are hilly
- what other inputs would I have for soybeans?
The local elevator is paying like $17/bu, what considerations should I keep in mind to make sure I can get that price?
I'll still hay the flattest ~5ac field, but it would be great to not do the whole 25ac that way. | |
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Beginner questions about soybeans
