RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson says there’s no better time to talk about soil health than during wheat harvest.
Johnson says all things wheat, including the straw, give growers a tremendous opportunity to increase soil health. Ontario research shows that by adding wheat to the rotation, growers see a five percent increase in corn yield and a 11 per cent bump in soybean yield. He adds that a host of factors drive wheat’s contribution, including the plant’s root structure as well as all that straw.
On this episode of RealAgriculture’s Soil School, we catch up with Johnson in a freshly combined wheat field near Stratford, Ont., to explore the agronomic and financial value of straw. He says there are many factors to consider, starting with where you farm across North America: from long-season areas such as North Carolina to dry regions like Kansas; wet areas such as Ontario and short-season growing regions in Western Canada.
When it comes to the nutrient value of straw, Johnson calculates the value based on a short ton (2,000 pounds). There are many nutrient calculators growers can use to determine values, but a ton of straw will typically yield 11 to 14 lbs of nitrogen, 3.5 lbs of phosphorous and 5 lbs of sulphur.
Potash, however, can be a bit of a wildcard, says Johnson, noting that growing and harvest conditions play a significant role in K availability. In a wet year, when the plant is dead at harvest, potash can leach quickly from the straw. In a dry climate, growers may have as much as 40 lbs of K. But in Ontario, where some growers have seen as much as five inches of rain at harvest, levels may be reduced to as little as 8 lbs — a difference of 500 percent. Watch the video below.
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