Potassium for hay

Potassium is one of the macronutrients needed to produce good crops.  It is needed for photosynthesis, carbohydrate transport in the plant and protein synthesis.  Potassium is the macronutrient most likely to be lacking when we soil test.

A good hay crop requires lots of potassium.  Alfalfa will remove up to 50 pounds of potassium per acre.  It s the nutrient most likely to limit alfalfa yield.  with timely cutting and high fertility, alfalfa can produce up to 10 tons of hay per acre.  If you are growing alfalfa, high exchange capacity soils should be at 400 pounds per acre and the amount of potassium removed should be added each year to maintain those levels.  The good news is that the dairy and beef animals output manure that is high in potassium too, so recycling it on fields where you are likely to grow hay is a great idea.