Gleaton Chip Ranch Updates

[KactusKiller]

Looking good!

[DT50]

no TC pics this trip? im heading to Menard Friday and cant wait to see what ive got so far

[bgleaton]

I'll have trail cam pics next trip. They've only been out for one week, so I didn't want to get them this trip.

[DUKFVR]

Place is looking Great!

[bgleaton]

FarmLogs shows we got 1.23in last night. Just west of us, around 30 miles, around San Angelo, received around 6in.

[bgleaton]

We got our soil samples back from Texas A&M AgriLife and found that all three fields have very similar soils. The pH was anywhere from 7.9 to 8.0 and they recommend the following fertilizer for planting oats, wheat and elbon rye:
115lbs Nitrogen/acre
40lbs Phosphorus/acre
0lbs Potassium/acre

I'll post our soil samples later this week. Should have trail cam pics sometime next week hopefully.

[bgleaton]

I think we are going to use Turner Seed's Fall Grazing Mix, which includes te following:
Beardless Wheat
TAM 606 Oats
Tambar Barley
Triticale
Elbon Rye

I may buy some purple top turnips to add to the mix to get a little something different and see how they perform. It's a small seed so I like the fact that we could throw them on top of the soaked seedbed and have the chance to grow.

I think it's probably best to go this route instead of the mixes with all the peas and clovers. I would love to grow peas and clovers, but our soils are just not that great. We will try to improve them overtime by planting some other crops in Spring/summer to improve organic matter, but we will stuck with these cool season grasses and see how it performs.

I have a question, if our soil samples show that we need 115lbs of Nitrogen and 40lbs of Phosphorus per acre, what blend of fertilizer should we buy? I'm still learning on how to calculate the ratio and which one we should buy. I've talked with some fertilizer companies, but they all say that we would need to order a lot more than we really need. Please let me know your thoughts.

[Puncher51]

I'd plow in your phosphorus if possible, and probably only put down 10-20 lbs/ac. Nitrogen I would put a little down preplant with the phosphorus, but the majority after emergence. I'd also only put down around 20 lbs of N per acre. You can always add more N before good rain forecasts with adequate soil temperature. Applying more than 40lbs/ac at one time of N can really burn your plants. If you'd like to message me your soil test results I can run it through my system and see what the recommendations are. I'm by no means a nutrient management specialist, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night!

[RMW]

30-11-0 at 380lbs per acre

[bgleaton]

Soil Sample Reports

Here are the soil sample reports we received:

[bgleaton]

7/24/2017

My dad went to the Mereta Co-Op Cotton Gin today to get another ton of cottonseed. We took our trailer and our bulk bags, which hold 1,000lbs each. The guys at the cotton gin were super helpful and filled everything up for my dad. This beats just filling the bed of our trucks up.




We'll be out there this weekend to fill the cottonseed feeders and fill the protein feeders. I should have some trail camera pictures to upload this week/weekend.

It turns out that we got 1.3in of rain from yesterday, so hopefully that will keep everything green and keep the dust settled for the time being.

[BrandonA]

Where did you get the bags?

[bgleaton]

We got them from U-line. I think they were $30 a piece.

[BrandonA]

We got them from U-line. I think they were $30 a piece.

Thanks. Do they have zipper tops

[bgleaton]

I'm not sure they have zipper tops or not but they do have several different designs. Our bulk bags have a 2ft long sleeve that can be wrapped and it also has drawstrings that tighten it closed. They do have a bag that has the same top as the ones we have, but they also have a chute on the bottom that can be opened and shut with a strap. I was thinking that design may actually work better for filling cottonseed feeders instead of having to shovel it out. Pull up with the tractor,open it up and let us fall.