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Review AccountAg Lime for the Win
Oct 22, 2025
Ag lime is a significant investment that last for 5-10 years. “It is a long-term investment” that pays off with proper pH levels to meet crop needs, according to Kevin Carlson, Federated’s agronomy sales manager.
The pH level for corn and soybeans should in the range of 6.0-6.5. Alfalfa likes the level at 7.0, but 6.5 works. “Everything works better in that range, said Carlson. “If a soil test comes back with pH of 6.0 or less, that will trigger an ag lime recommendation from us,” he said.
Carlson pointed out how soil acidity is the currency in the soil nutrient economy.
Ag lime isn’t cheap, but low yields are even more costly. If pH levels are off, fertilizer doesn’t work as well as it can. The phosphorus is affected, and the sulfur, too. “Adjusting pH is unavoidable,” Carlson said.
Nutrient availability varies significantly when pH is not where it needs to be. The following charts and tables show how pH and fertilizer play together in the field to help or hurt yields.
MN Ag Lime Table
pH and Fertilizer
This document, Soil Test Interpretations, lists key definitions relative to soil testing (courtesy of Midwest Labs, Federated’s preferred soil testing laboratory).
Budgeting for ag lime applications should be part of every annual budget such that ag lime gets applied every year to your field with the lowest pH level. Carlson noted that doing this in rotation keeps pH levels where they need to be, and by budgeting $7-10/ac. each year, it’s possible to manage a rotation of ag lime applications without breaking the bank. He said he can attest to this from personal experience on his own farm.
Craig Lysne, Federated’s custom application manager, said, “It is a lot easier on the pocketbook to spread 1.5 tons per acre of lime now versus waiting till [years] later and spreading 4 tons to the acre.”
“Ag lime helps nutrient availability, and can also help the effectiveness of herbicides once fully activated … The fine ag lime we apply takes about a year to fully activate in the soil,” said Lysne.
Since Federated orders ag lime from nearby quarries and has the product dumped at the fields Federated services, it’s important to get orders in as soon as you’ve made the decision to apply ag lime. “We have to line up the truckers [from the quarries],” said Lysne, and then we schedule our payloaders and TerraGators to arrive soon after the delivery trucks.
Contact your Federated Agronomist to discuss your farm's ag lime needs and options.
The pH level for corn and soybeans should in the range of 6.0-6.5. Alfalfa likes the level at 7.0, but 6.5 works. “Everything works better in that range, said Carlson. “If a soil test comes back with pH of 6.0 or less, that will trigger an ag lime recommendation from us,” he said.
Carlson pointed out how soil acidity is the currency in the soil nutrient economy.
High soil acidity = low soil nutrient economy (i.e., availability)
Low soil acidity = high soil nutrient economy (i.e., availability)
Low soil acidity = high soil nutrient economy (i.e., availability)
Ag lime isn’t cheap, but low yields are even more costly. If pH levels are off, fertilizer doesn’t work as well as it can. The phosphorus is affected, and the sulfur, too. “Adjusting pH is unavoidable,” Carlson said.
Nutrient availability varies significantly when pH is not where it needs to be. The following charts and tables show how pH and fertilizer play together in the field to help or hurt yields.
MN Ag Lime Table
pH and Fertilizer
This document, Soil Test Interpretations, lists key definitions relative to soil testing (courtesy of Midwest Labs, Federated’s preferred soil testing laboratory).
Budgeting for ag lime applications should be part of every annual budget such that ag lime gets applied every year to your field with the lowest pH level. Carlson noted that doing this in rotation keeps pH levels where they need to be, and by budgeting $7-10/ac. each year, it’s possible to manage a rotation of ag lime applications without breaking the bank. He said he can attest to this from personal experience on his own farm.
Craig Lysne, Federated’s custom application manager, said, “It is a lot easier on the pocketbook to spread 1.5 tons per acre of lime now versus waiting till [years] later and spreading 4 tons to the acre.”
“Ag lime helps nutrient availability, and can also help the effectiveness of herbicides once fully activated … The fine ag lime we apply takes about a year to fully activate in the soil,” said Lysne.
Since Federated orders ag lime from nearby quarries and has the product dumped at the fields Federated services, it’s important to get orders in as soon as you’ve made the decision to apply ag lime. “We have to line up the truckers [from the quarries],” said Lysne, and then we schedule our payloaders and TerraGators to arrive soon after the delivery trucks.
Contact your Federated Agronomist to discuss your farm's ag lime needs and options.