One of the issues that we have here in the area is that our soils are of a high pH. This can cause issues with nutrient uptake in plants, especially if their root systems have been compromised by drought. I have found an article from our Horticulture department that gives you some more information about what you can do if you have high pH soils to help your plants.
   

Though there are high pH soils in most parts of the state, alkaline soils tend to be more common in the central and western regions of Kansas. These high pH soils can cause problems for plants by reducing the availability of certain micronutrients. For example, most Kansas soils have more than adequate amounts of iron. However, a high pH can make iron unavailable resulting in a condition known as iron chlorosis as evidenced by light green leaves with darker green veins. Iron chlorosis reduces the health of plants by reducing photosynthesis. Lowering the pH of such soils will eliminate iron chlorosis.
   

Now would be a good time to have a soil test done to see if your pH is too high. If so, sulfur can be added either now or in the spring to lower the pH. Different textures of soil require different amounts. A sandy soil needs 1.0 to 1.5 pounds of sulfur per 100 square feet to reduce pH one point. A loam soil needs 1.5 – 2.0  pounds and clay needs 2.0 – 2.5 pounds to do the same. For example, if you wished to lower pH from 7.5 to 6.5 on a loam soil, you would need 1.5 – 2.0 pounds of sulfur per 100 square feet.
   

So, what pH do we shoot for? For most plants, a pH between 6.0 and 7.0 is preferred. Unfortunately, adding sulfur to lower pH is not as clear-cut a solution as we would like. Here are some other factors to keep in mind. 
   

Free calcium carbonate: Some soils have free calcium carbonate, actual particles of limestone mixed in the soil. These “calcareous” soils normally have a pH of 7.3 to 8.5, with 8.2 to 8.3 being most common. In order for us to lower the pH with sulfur, all free calcium carbonate must be neutralized first. A recent soil test showed 6.7 percent free calcium carbonate. One pound of sulfur is needed to neutralize three pounds of calcium carbonate. Assuming 80 pounds for a cubic foot of soil, you would need about 1.75 pounds of sulfur per square foot just to neutralize the free lime. Additional sulfur would be needed to lower pH. Adding this much sulfur to a soil at one time is not recommended.
   

Not all high pH soils are calcareous. Perform this simple test to see if your soil contains appreciable amounts of free lime. Apply one drop of vinegar to dry soil. A vigorous fizz usually means the soil contains at least 3 percent calcium carbonate. A mild fizz suggests a calcium carbonate of between 1 and 2 percent and a fizz that can only be heard suggests the soil has a calcium carbonate content less than 1 percent.
   

How sulfur works: Elemental sulfur does not lower pH directly. It must first be oxidized to the sulfate form with the result being sulfuric acid. The sulfuric acid produces hydrogen, which acidifies the soil and lowers pH. The oxidation takes place primarily through microbial activity.
   

Oxidation takes time: Microbial oxidation of elemental sulfur takes time and depends on:
    
– number of sulfur oxidizing bacteria present
    
– temperature (75-104 degrees optimum)
    
– moisture content of soil (too wet or too dry will slow down process)
     
– size of sulfur particles (the smaller the better)
   

A single sulfur application normally takes at least 2 years for most the sulfur to react and form sulfuric acid.

Alicia Boor is an Agriculture and Natural Resources agent in the Cottonwood District (which includes Barton and Ellis counties) for K-State Research and Extension. You can contact her by e-mail at [email protected] or calling 620-793-1910

By RON WILSON
Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development

“Herd about Kansas?” I saw that phrase – with “heard” spelled “herd” as in a herd of cows – on a cap which displayed a picture of a cowherd. The cap was colored in black and white splotches like a Holstein milk cow. That cap is the type of eye-catching item which might have been used in the early 1990s to recruit dairies to western Kansas. This jointly-supported recruitment effort has not only sparked remarkable economic growth, it has been part of the spirit of regional cooperation.

In previous weeks, we’ve learned about leading dairymen in three different regions of the state. The dairy industry has grown significantly in this state, particularly in western Kansas.

In the early 1990s, community leaders in western Kansas recognized that there were opportunities to grow and attract the dairy industry. The Western Kansas Dairy Coalition was formed.

Joann Knight of Ford County Economic Development was involved at the beginning. “Dairies were getting squeezed out of California,” she said. The bountiful feed production and wide open spaces of western Kansas made this seem like a perfect location to relocate. Community leaders came together to jointly recruit to the region. By pooling their efforts, these communities could send one big, effective display to a trade show, for example, rather than having multiple communities send several small, ineffective ones.

Note that I just said that milk production was being `squeezed out’ of California and that the recruitment efforts should be `pooled.’ Isn’t that udderly funny? Okay, enough milk jokes.

Apart from the dairy industry, visionary leaders in western Kansas were concerned about the future of their communities and the region in general. Among those who saw the need to work together for mutual benefit were the late Steve Miller from Sunflower Electric Power Corporation; Carol Meyer, who was at the Chamber of Commerce in Garden City at the time; and Lyle Butler, then-president of the Dodge City Chamber of Commerce.

In May 1994, some 85 people attended a meeting to discuss the economic challenges of the region and to consider how a regional organization might help. They agreed to help plan a regional organization. This resulted in the western Kansas Rural Economic Development Alliance or wKREDA. wKREDA provided a unifying force for all of western Kansas.

Eventually, the dairy coalition came under the organizational umbrella of wKREDA, which helped organize the recruitment efforts.

For example, a wKREDA delegation went to the big dairy expo in Tulare, California and the New York farm show. This raised the visibility of western Kansas as a potential site for dairies to relocate.

Carol Meyer remembers being part of the dairy recruitment team. “Every week we went somewhere and met with dairy managers to learn about what they needed,” Carol said. Bankers and rural electric cooperatives agreed to put up funds to help the new dairies.

The effort worked. In 1994, the first dairies from California began to move to Kansas. At the New York farm show, wKREDA representatives met the McCarty family which would eventually relocate their dairy farm to Kansas also.

This was genuine rural economic development. The new dairies stimulated jobs, construction, growth in school enrollment, and other economic activity. The McCartys’ first Kansas dairy was located near the rural community of Rexford, population 232 people. Now, that’s rural.

Today wKREDA continues to work on dairy growth along with other issues benefitting western Kansas. For example, wKREDA provides economic and community development education for its members, builds relationships with various agencies and partners, and provides political representation to policymakers in Topeka and Washington. wKREDA represents 55 counties which have chosen to pool their resources for mutual benefit. Christy Hopkins, Greeley County economic development director, is the current president of wKREDA.

For more information, go to www.discoverwesternkansas.com.

Have you Herd about Kansas? We commend Carol Meyer, Christy Hopkins, and all those previously and currently involved with wKREDA for making a difference with dairy recruitment and regional cooperation. Working together, they were able to make themselves heard.

And there’s more. Growth in dairy production has led to value-added opportunities in dairy and other industries. We’ll learn about that next week.