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If you want fall-early winter small-grain forage production, you can choose the nitrogen source for topdressing fall small-grain pasture by cost, availability and convenience.

In 1985, Wadell Altom, Jerry Rogers (both previous soil and crops specialists) and Bret Flatt (senior research assistant) initiated a research project northwest of Ardmore, Okla., on the Pasture Demonstration Farm to evaluate nitrogen fertilizer source and timing of application. This is an analysis of the results.

This fall, the price of natural gas will not change much, and therefore N fertilizer prices will not be impacted. However, next spring it may.

Most fertilization articles you read discuss nitrogen management. But what about the importance of phosphorus and potassium fertilization?

February is typically the time when top-dress applications of N are made to small grains for graze out or for grain harvest.

Feeding hay through the winter accounts for a large portion of the costs associated with cow-calf production, so forage management strategies to lengthen the grazing season and reduce hay consumption could be beneficial in increasing profitability.

Forage yields should be high this spring. Excess rainfall has provided enough moisture to support spring forage production through graze-out.

Early February is the time to determine whether to apply additional nitrogen for spring production of small grain forage or grain. In early winter, producers frequently ask our soil fertility specialists how much of the nitrogen applied the previous fall to small grain pastures is available for spring forage or grain production.

By the time you read this many of you will have realized the ryegrass or small grain you planted in August, September or October did not produce much forage. There were many reasons such as: it came up and was killed by excessive heat, the grasshoppers ate it or the army worms killed it. Some of you replanted in late October or waited until late October to plant the first time.