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Nutrient Management Program
Jay Douthit 

Nutrient Management Advisor
Jay Douthit

Contact Jay

 As spring finally breaks, many farmers are heading to the fields.  Before you start, please take time to review your nutrient management plan.  First, make sure it is up to date and covers the upcoming growing season.  If not, then contact myself or your planner to do an update.  Secondly, make sure your crop rotations haven’t changed.  A lot of producers are planning on planting more corn acres and this should be reflected in your nutrient management plan.  Other changes that might require updates include adding or reducing acreage, using a different nutrient source such as manure or new soil test results.  Let me reiterate that it is the producer’s responsibility to insure that a nutrient management plan is up to date and accurate.

New soil test is a good place to start when you need to update your plan.  We have sample bags and forms here in the office.  We also have soil probes that can be checked out.

Remember that it is very important to get a good representative sample in order to get good results.  Take 15 to 20 cores randomly spaced throughout the field, avoiding unusual areas such as wet ground, old barnyards etc.  Sample depth should be 8 inches. Break up the large clumps and mix the soil sample well before filling the bag.  Make sure to label the bag with the field number or name that matches your farm map.

Spring is also a time for spreading manure.  Yearly analysis of manures is a good practice due to rapidly changing feeding practices of poultry and livestock.  Again, it is important to take a representative sample.  For piled poultry litter for example, take several samples from around the pile, digging into the pile to avoid the extremely wet crust.  Mix these samples together on a sheet of plastic. Once mixed, you can put your sample into a labeled zip-lock bag.  We have supplies at the office such as bags, plastic sleeves and sample forms for different labs.

If you need assistance taking samples, either soil or manure, please stop by the office or call 410-778-1661.

It is the policy of the University of Maryland, Agricultural Experiment Station and Maryland Cooperative Extension, that no person shall be subjected to discrimination on the grounds of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital or parental status, or disability. If you need special assistance to participate, please contact Kent County Extension Office at 410-778-1661.

For more information, contact TJ Brown

Last updated: 07/13/2009