Alfalfa Hay And Soil Fertility
Categories: Grains and Forage CropsWe are feeding all our hay to dairy cows, returning the manure to the
soil. At present prices of hay, my neighbors who sell theirs, seem to be
as well off, with considerable less work; but how about the future? Can
this soil be cropped indefinitely and the crops sold, without returning
anything to the land?
It is a mistake to think that you can sell alfalfa hay indefinitely
without reducing the soil. It may gain in nitrogen by the wastes of the
plant, but it will lose in other constituents unless reinforced by
fertilization. No single act can make for the maintenance of the soil as
the growing and feeding of crops and return of manure does.
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