Establishing Pastures: Soil Test

Table of Contents

1. Soil Test
2. Other Pasture Establishment Recommendations
   • Selecting a Seed Mixture
   • Types of Mixtures
   • Seeding Rates
   • Legume Inoculation
   • The Seedbed
   • Seeding Technique
   • Weed Control When Seeding Forage Stands
3. Related Links

Soil Test

The first step in establishing a new pasture is determining:

• existing fertility levels, and
• pH of the soil to be seeded.

Do a soil test the year before you plan on seeding. This gives enough lead time to adjust the pH levels, if necessary. Lime reacts slowly and it is best incorporated into the soil 36 months before seeding. If the soil is not worked, the lime will take a couple of years to move into the root zone.

Soil sampling must adequately represent the entire field.

• Take at least one core or sub-sample per acre, with no more than 25 acres (cores) of similar soil grouped together.
• Use a sampling tube or spade, sampling the soil to a depth of 15 cm.
• Mix the cores together in a clean plastic bucket to get a representative sample from that area.
• Send the sample to a soil testing laboratory and request the basic test accredited by OMAF. This lists the soil pH, buffer pH, and phosphorus, potassium and magnesium levels in the soil, as well as recommends fertilizer rates that will produce the highest economic yields. (See Appendix A for a list of accredited soil labs.)
  

Sample areas that are significantly different separately; for example sandy knolls in a heavier field or low spots. This allows you to tailor fertility practices to the needs of the soil. A new service now offered is grid or intensive sampling, using global positioning. A farm is divided into small blocks (usually 2.5 acres) and sampled to allow for precision farming.

Related Links

... on forages and pastures, visit Forages and Pastures (OMAFRA)
... on weed control, order Publication 75 Guide to Weed Control: Forage Crops
... on agronomy for field crops, order Pub. 811 Agronomy Guide for Field Crops: Chapter 3 Forages
... on field crop protection, order Publication 812, Field Crop Protection Guide
... on livestock, visit Livestock (OMAFRA)