ForageFax: Liquid calcium a substitute for what?

The transportation and application costs associated with limestone applications often exceeds the cost of the limestone by 10 to 30 times.  When soil test recommendations call for three, four or even five tons per acre, the end cost can sometimes exceed $300 per acre. Increasingly, producers are looking toward non-traditional approaches to battle low soil pH. Over the past several years, online ads have stressed the liquid calcium formulation marketed by company X or Y is many times more available than the calcium in limestone. In general, the ads do not claim to be a limestone substitute, but a source of soluble calcium. Many producers and even some agricultural retailers view these ads and are falsely guided toward believing that increasing plant available calcium will often or even eliminate the derogatory influence of low soil pH. Get more information on liquid calcium from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension’s ForageFax…