The Challenge
The Bull Hill fields have been farmed for many years with varying degrees of success. The soil is classified as gravelly very fine sandy loam and was very susceptible to the impacts of drought conditions. After several years of raising corn without seeing an increase in either yield or quality, it became clear that a change was needed.
The RMI Solution
After performing a full soil survey for the Mt. Toby Farm on the Bull Hill fields, RMI recommended using Heart & Soil® Paper Fiber to increase the organic matter in the soils, which would then increase the water-holding capacity of the topsoil. In Phase I of the soil enhancement project, RMI delivered approximately 15,000 cubic yards of Paper Fiber, which was land applied to the first field, incorporated into the soil and fertilized. Phase II completed the application of Paper Fiber, and used 4,300 cubic yards of Paper Fiber on the remaining portion of the field. The use of Paper Fiber increased the crude protein in the corn silage from 2.2% to 3.1%.