Page 13 - MWC 3-30-2023s

The Midwest Cattleman · March 30, 2023 · P13
Forage Management: It’s just chemistry

by Dr. Gary Bates
One of the topics we spend chemical reaction removes reaction of calcium carbonate the carbonate, the hydrogen
a lot of time on is soil fertility them to result in a less acidic with hydrogen ions forming ions won’t be bound to oxygen
and the need for soil testing. soil, meaning the pH increas- water and carbon dioxide will to form water and they will re-
The discussion usually focus- es. help you understand the value main in the soil, keeping pH
es on fertilizer, and how much When pH is less than 6.0, of agricultural lime. The com- low.
to apply or when to apply it. many of the nutrients needed ponent of calcium carbonate It takes large amounts of
But recently I have been get- by plants get tied to the soil that helps pH is the carbon- lime to help raise the pH on
ting several questions related particle and become unavail- ate, not the calcium. Without continued on page 19
to different types of products able for use.
that are promoted as replace- Some of the
ments for agricultural lime. If toxic elements
we have a good understand- get released
ing of what agricultural lime into the soil
is and what it does in the soil, solution, inhib-
we can do a better job manip- iting plant root
ulating pH to our advantage. growth. As we
Ag lime is limestone that raise the pH to
is ground fine enough to meet 6.0 and above,
certain standards set by the the toxic ele-
Department of Agriculture. ments get tied
Chemically, it is calcium car- to the soil par-
bonate (CaCO3). As the lime ticles and the
dissolves into the water in good nutrients
the soil, the carbonate binds get released,
with hydrogen ions to form available for
water (H2O) and carbon di- plant growth.
oxide (CO2). Since the hydro- Under -
gen ions make soil acidic, this standing the

ellis Family Three Generations Raising

Herefords No Excuse Herefords

Production Sale • May 7 • Aurora, MO

Maternal • Calving Ease • Performance

jimbellis@missouristate.edu

Jim & Carla 417-466-8679 Jamie & Kevin 573-289-1061 Jonathan 417-440-1300
19264 Lawrence 2170 • aurora, Mo 65605

40 Bulls • 75 Spring & Fall Calving Pairs • Follow us on for updates