The Rural Voice, 1999-10, Page 45previous crop, oilseed radish will
significantly reduce nitrate leaching.
The oilseed radish residue will break
down quite quickly, making the
captured nitrogen available to the
crop early in the season.
This cover crop is killed during
the winter. However, it should not
be allowed to go to seed before
freeze-up. Any new seeds could
become a volunteer problem in the
next crop.
Oilseed radish is also well known
for its nematicidal properties. When
it is incorporated in its green state,
the leaves release a nematode
inhibiting compound. However, by
turning it over in the fall, you lose its
erosion control properties.
No one cover crop is perfect.
They all have their benefits and their
limitations. However, with a little
work, a cover crop can fit well into
any cropping system. For a list of
cover crop seed suppliers, contact
your local OMAFRA Crop Specialist
or visit http://www.gov.on.ca/
OM AFRA/engl ish/crops/resource/co
vercrp.htm.
Straw can be a
valuable part of your
wheat crop
By Chris Brown
Soil & Crop Advisor, OMAFRA
Straw is a valuable part of the
wheat crop and helps economically
keep wheat in the rotation. It is also
valuable for building soil structure
and adding organic matter back to the
soil. If we assume that to make ends
meet the straw will be sold in the
windrow, how would you go about
determining a fair price?
The price should include the
fertilizer replacement value of the
straw. A 75 bushel/acre crop of
wheat will have straw containing
NPK of about 55-10-95 lbs/acre,
equivalent to about $40 worth of
fertilizer. Straw from a similarly
yielding barley crop would contain
30-10-70 NPK, worth about $27. The
nitrogen level in wheat straw is
higher because the nitrogen applied
to a wheat crop is higher than spring
cereals.
Advice
A quick rule of thumb for a wheat
crop is that the straw will yield one
40 Ib. straw bale for each bushel of
grain (1.5 ton straw for a 75 bushel
crop). At that yield each bale of
wheat straw would contain $0.50 just
in nutrient equivalent. Spring cereals
straw yield is more variable
depending upon the weather.
Organic matter value is much
more difficult to determine. However
the straw as an organic source for
building soil structure increases if
there is no red clover or forage in the
rotation. Some cash crop farmers will
trade with a neighbouring livestock
producer: straw in exchange for
manure.0
Tips on pricing
corn silage
By Joel Bagg
Ag Rep, OMAFRA, Port Perry
Corn silage is sometimes
purchased by livestock operations to
ensure adequate forage supplies. It is
usually readily available and is easy
to store. A common question is
"what is corn silage worth" ?
For this example, let's assume a
110 bushel per acre grain yield (2.8
tonnes / acre). This would be
equivalent to about 14.25 tonnes /
acre of corn silage. New corn
contract prices are presently very low
at $111 / tonne or $2.81 / bushel. The
value of a corn crop standing in the
field would be $310.80 gross (2.8T
@ $111), less $28 drying (2.8T @
$10), less $33 combining, less $18.20
trucking (2.8T @ $6.50). The
additional soil nutrient value
removed by a 14.25 tonne per acre
corn silage crop as opposed to a grain
crop is estimated at 62 - 26 - 114.
This is equivalent to about $48.41 /
acre or $3.40 / tonne. This means
that the corn crop standing in the
field, to be harvested as corn silage
by the buyer is worth $280.01 / acre
or $19.65 / tonne.
If the seller is going to fill the silo
for the buyer, custom silo filling
charges must also be added. The
custom rate for a PTO harvester, 3
tractors, wagons, labour, etc, is about
$150 per hour, or $60 per acre. In
this example that would add $4.21 /
tonne to the value of the corn silage,
bringing it to $340.01 / acre or
$23.86 / tonne.
There are other factors that should
be considered. The local supply and
demand of alternate forages will also
influence the price. Good yield
estimates are important. Yield
estimates should take into
consideration actual weights and
percentage moisture. Sellers may not
want to take a "harvest price". Corn
fields used for silage are sometimes
immature and poorer quality.
For a copy of this budget contact the
OMAFRA office in Fergus at 846-
0941 or 1-800-265-8332. This
example is meant to be a general
guide to be used as a starting point in
negotiations between buyer and
seller. Make your own assumptions
and do the calculations specific to
your situation.0
Use soil sampling to
make smart choices
Fall is usually a good time to take
a few soil samples. Having the
results this fall and winter will help
you plan for next year's crops to
maximize your fertilizer investment.
A soil test will give you a good
idea what are your actual levels of
available plant nutrients. Applying
fertilizer will pay if your nutrient
levels are in the low to medium
range. On high or excessive fertility
levels, applying un -needed fertilizer
can influence the availability of other
plant nutrients. For example, excess
phosphorus can induce zinc
deficiency and excess potassium can
induce magnesium deficiency in
corn. So getting the right balance of
fertility and pH is also important.
A soil sample should represent no
more than 25 acres and should be
taken once every three years and
more often on sandy soils. Each
sample should have two to three
cores taken per acre. The smart part
of taking soil samples is dependant
on how thorough you are in the
taking of a representative soil sample
of the soil.
Fertilizer recommendations in
Ontario for Phosphorus (P),
Potassium (K) and Lime are based on
OCTOBER 1999 41