Licking Valley courier. [volume] (West Liberty, Ky.) 19??-current, 1913-02-13
Farmer 5 Corner.
Soil Fertility and Farm Manage.
ment Problems.

mercial maintenance of soil fer
tility, and right farm manage
ment. Only by building up and
keeping up the fertility of the
soil can large yields be contini-
ously produced, but after this has
been accomplished good farm
management must be practiced
in order to realize good net pro-
fit upon ones investment.
Every farmer should know, to
begin with, what amounts OF the
plant food elements nitrogen,
phosphorus and potassium are in
his soil. All the other essential
plant food elements are present
in Kentucky soils in sufficient
quantities for maxium yields OF
crops. These data can be furn-
ished by the Kentucky Agricul-
tural Experiment Station. The
analysis of the typical soil acres
of Kentucky are now on file at
the Experiment Station, and if
relatively accurate data cannot
be furnished for any particular
farm of this State, instructions
for the collection of soil for an
alysis will be furnished upon APP
plication to Dir. Al M. Peter,
Head of the Division of the Soil
Chemistry of the Experiment
Station, and free report will fol-
low. Samples OF soil to be ana
lyzed should always be taken ac-
cording to instructions. Whether
or not lime is needed to correct
soil acidity can be very readily
determined by experiment upon
a small plot in connection with
the sowing of red clover. The
plowed surface of a soil should
contain not less than 5000 pounds
of nitrogen, $500 pounds
of phosphorus, and 16, 000pounds
of potassium in order that, in a
favorable season and under good
tillage, it may be made to pro-
duce a maXium crop of corn,
wheat or oats. The soils of Ken
lucky, exceptin river bottoms and
peat swamps contain an abun-
dance of potassium II soil does
not show an analysis at least
up to the above in nitrogen, phos-
phorus and potassium, steps
should be taken to add, economi-
cally, these elements to a content
necessary for large production.
and raw ground limestone should
be applied if experiment with red
clover shows that the soil needs
limestone.
After normal fertility has been
secured, it should be maintained,
and one great factor in this main
tenance is good crop rotation.
Crop rotations may vary in grain
farming from those used in live
stock farming, but in either case
legume crops such as clover al
falfa, COW peas, soy beans, and
sweet clover, must be used to
maintain the supply of nitrogen.
In stock farming, about every
third crop, should be a legume
crop, and in grain farming, about |
every second crop. By estab- /
fishing crop rotations as above
indicated and by turning under
sufficient manure and green crops
to keep up the nitrogen content
the fertility of the soil can be
kept up, ifin addition phosphor-
us in some form be added from
time to time in quantities cores
ponding to those removed from
the soil in cereal and forgage
crops and live stock. The basis
for such computation will be
furnished upon application to
the Experiment Station.
The location of farm buildings
with reference to various parts
of the farm and to each other,
the laying out of fields and
fences the establishing of drain
age systems, the working out of
crop rotations, forms for farm
accounting, etc., are among the
problems Iof farm management
which bear a strong relation to
the success or the failure of the
owner of a farm.
The Division of Extension of
the Kentucky Agricultural Ex-
ment Station has decided to offer
assistance, as far as may be
possible, to farmers Of the State
in solving problems of soil fertil-