Although we may be biased, we feel it is hard to find a career more noble than being stewards of this earth’s beautiful land and caretakers for thousands of precious animals’ lives. Because we take this responsibility so seriously, we are continually evaluating and changing our farming and livestock practices in an effort to improve our world. We would like to share with you a few of our practices that separate us from agricultural norms and aid us in being better stewards and caretakers.
Soil Sampling and Nutrient Management
RAKR Farms has a very detailed nutrient management plan that we can share with each of our landlords. The core of this plan is a soil sampling plan and schedule. We employ a 2.5 acre offset grid method when we sample our fields. We believe that our unique fertilizing methods make it even more necessary to have a regular soil sampling schedule to verify our applications. With the help of a few well-known industry professionals, we have developed a complex model to aid in managing our soil nutrient contents. This equation allows us to predict the soil nutrient levels in each 2.5 acre grid in the year(s) we do not soil sample. We achieve this by taking the most recent soil sample levels, adding any nutrient applications, and subtracting the nutrients removed from crop growth. These interim values allow us to continue to apply variable rate fertilizer applications in the year(s) between sampling.
