old tame grass stand

[max]

I have an old stand of crestedwheat and meadowbrome pasture on some light sandy soil that isn't very productive any more. Ripping it up is not an option. Looking for ways to reguvenate it. Any suggestions would be welcomed.

[smcgrath76]

We have had good luck with some of the
following...
1. Bale graze it
2. Spread manure on it, and throw part
of a coffee can full of alfalfa seed on
the spreader.
3. Fence it into small paddocks and
graze it intensively then give it long
rest periods.

[per]

I pick #3 and a little #2 in with the mineral. Cicer Milkvetch would be my legume of choice. A trip over it with an aerator could be useful as well.

[charliep]

You have to have a look beyond supplies and at what would appear to be a large June, July and August sales program (for wheat ex durum). I note the comment on a record April program and a beginning May that is moving supplies out rapidly. Will be an interesting couple of months as things play out to the end of the crop both from the logistics side as well as well as how the supply chain partners "play in the sand box together".

I note your comments about reading over contractual commitments - particularly if you have been rolling volumes forward fro the A and B series. It is interesting as a ag economist case study to compare canola (open market) to wheat (regulated market).

[charliep]

It will be interesting to look at the CONTRIBUTION FROM OTHER REVENUE SOURCES performance measure in the 2008/09 final report (have to wait for 10 months to see). This measure has code words like discretionary trading and wheat pool pricing model. Will be interesting how a monthly bulge in exports is handled in this process and the impact on the performance measure.

[vagabonddreamer]

quite a bit of the soil here in the sunny and warm and beautiful okanagan valley..(just gotta rub that in).. is similar to what you describe...i have been doing quite a bit of research on foliar fertilizer and i wonder if it might be better on sandy pourous soil...than granular??? there are several new types and brands out there and it seems to be gaining in popularity...vs

[charliep]

My last post would likely fit into the weird category so should
likely explain somewhat.

Exports would appear (will be a lot more accurate in 2 1/2
months) to be 10 % over the CWB December forecast of 16
MMT. A good thing given the combination of customer, price
and logistics. As a performance measure, does that mean
the CWB will show 110 % a and if so what does it mean?

From the sales plan and pricing model, what impact does
more sales than anticipate have on the other performance
measure in the other income/discretionary trading.
Hopefully the CWB would just deposit this extra sales
revenue in pooling accounts and distribute in the final
payments. Being simple is sometimes good.

[Hopperbin]

Charlie or anyone is the CWB getting into any markets on CWSWS wheat? Last year the pool ended up quite nicely but this year the PRO is not so great. From what I understand is that the board does not normally export this wheat due to low price.

[max]

what amount of fertilizer are you talking about. Of course with this cold dry spring the lack of grass looks 10 times worse than in previous years.

[farmers_son]

I bet if you soil tested you would find all the nitrogen is gone. Any kind of fertilizer would probably make a huge difference. Manure works great but it takes a lot to make a difference.

vagabonddreamer: Not warm here. It is one month from today until the longest day of the year and it is still freezing every night. Forecast is for a hard frost tonight and tomorrow night too.