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Leesburg, Ohio | In defense of Jim's comments...I don't see where it could be said that he is "using 50's technology". He is using rotational grazing methods fairly successfully, it appears to me. Nothing old-fashioned about that.
And I don't take offense to his posts just because he sells farm equipment accessories...he answers questions and chimes in on related topics, but very seldom do I see him make any outright sales pitch here. This has all been "cussed and discussed" before.
One topic i disagree with Jim on, is his insistence that a crop of corn can be grown with less fertilizer than "normal" just by banding the nutrients. He says above that he can ...."grow a crop such as corn with 1/3 less P & K and often 0.7 units of N per bu (with split, banded application) rather than 1 - 1.2 units N per bu commonly used in conventional systems"........ I say not.
He says ....."Why work and fertilize the whoile field to the same level when we know within inches where each seed will be next spring??".........
I say those corn roots don't stop growing when they get the the edge of the strip. They can maybe get all their nutrients from the strip, but putting less in the strip than the crop uses only depletes the soil long term. Yes, he can raise a crop this year, and maybe for the next few years, but not long term. He says he doesn't mean to use less than removal rates, but then turns around above and says "use less than" the normal removal amounts.
Edited by KDD 4/29/2011 22:56
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The future of agriculture
