If you don’t yet have a soil-sampling plan for your fields, it’s time to dust off the soil probe or contact your agronomist. With a soil analysis in hand, you can use the new Case IH Nutri-Tiller 955 strip-till applicator to help create a high-efficiency seedbed and apply up to three fertilizer products in a single pass.
Fall is the ideal time of year to conduct routine soil sampling.1 Weather and field conditions typically are better, and you can begin improving fertility yet this year. Plus, you’ll have the entire winter to consider additional adjustments ahead of spring fieldwork. University of Missouri Extension lists several reasons why fall is better than spring, or any other season, for soil sampling:
- Accuracy. Most soil sample reports are inaccurate, primarily because not enough cores were taken. Take at least 15 to 20 cores from the area being sampled. During the summer, the ground is hard and it’s hot. In the spring, fields are wet, making it difficult to pull a quality core. Fall simply offers better working conditions.
- Time to lime. After lime is applied, it can take up to six months for the lime to raise the pH of the soil to the required level. Applying lime in the fall will ensure the pH is correct in time for a spring-planted crop.
- Save money. Fertilizer often is cheaper in the fall or the winter than it is in the spring, when demand is greatest. If you sample in the fall, you will know exactly what you need and you can purchase it when prices are lowest. Check with your tax professional regarding any potential tax advantages due to purchasing the fertilizer you’ll need next year before the end of this year.
- Quicker results. Most farmers, gardeners and homeowners test their soil in the spring. Soil-testing labs are swamped, and it can take several weeks to get results. Turnaround time in the fall is much faster.
- Get your P, K and manure down. Phosphorus and potassium applied in a commercial fertilizer and nearly all nutrients applied in manure form need time to become available to the plant. If you apply in the spring, they may not be available to that year’s crop. If you apply in the fall, they will benefit the next year’s crop. A soil test will show you how much to apply.
Once you’ve received your soil analysis from the lab and you’ve decided to apply fertilizer this fall, consider the efficiency of strip-till with the Nutri-Tiller 955. Strip-till delivers the agronomic advantages of conventional tillage with the conservation and cost benefits of no-till. An optional air package, available on the 30- and 40-foot units, lets you pair the Nutri-Tiller with the Case IH Precision Air™ 5 series air cart. This option allows deep banding of up to two dry fertilizers plus anhydrous ammonia while creating a high-efficiency seedbed, all in a single pass. In conventional tillage systems, turn to our Nutri-Placer fertilizer applicators for precise anhydrous ammonia applications this fall.
First, work with your agronomist or crop consultant to pull an accurate soil sample. Then talk to your Case IH dealer about the Nutri-Tiller 955 and how this one-pass seedbed management tool can help you effectively manage your time, resources and inputs.