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Cover Crops Build Strong Orchards That Can Withstand Droughts

By Julienne Isaacs
Lemons and avocados aren’t your typical cash crops accompanying cover crops. But Chris Sayer’s family successfully uses covers in their lemon and avocado orchards on Petty Ranch in Saticoy, Cal., which they’ve owned for 130 years. 

  • Forage Covers in a Drought

    Is it worth planting a cover crop to use for forage in a drought? Any forage produced will be that much more valuable this year, but what is the likelihood anything will grow if you put seed in the ground? Read more in this article from the University of Minnesota.

  • Growers Could Receive $25 Per Acre Payments if Using Cover Crops

    Landowners could receive payments of $25 per acre on up to 1,000 acres if cover crops are established in their fields for the purposes of soil health, according to a preliminary Senate draft of the Build Back Better bill and corresponding budget. Non-operating landowners could receive payments of $5 per acre for encouraging tenants to seed covers on rented fields.

  • Mitigate Climate Change with Cover Crops

    There is a lot of talk about climate change. Many people point to agriculture as one of the potential sources to the answer of mitigating it. Read more in this article from Seed World.
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Seeding Practices

  • Broadcast Covers Into Standing Soybeans

    The fallow period between soybean harvest and corn planting in a crop rotation is highly vulnerable to sediment and nutrient losses, but soybean harvest is often so late that there isn’t enough time to reliably establish a cover crop. If a cover crop is established, options are typically limited to cereal rye or winter wheat. For many, the financial risk of a failed cover crop stand outweighs the potential benefits. Read more in this article from Lancaster Farming.
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Grazing

  • Forage Covers in a Drought

    Is it worth planting a cover crop to use for forage in a drought? Any forage produced will be that much more valuable this year, but what is the likelihood anything will grow if you put seed in the ground? Read more in this article from the University of Minnesota.

  • Reduce Agriculture's Carbon Footprint by Grazing Cattle

    Ruminant animals like cattle contribute to the maintenance of healthy soils and grasslands, and proper grazing management can reduce the industry’s carbon emissions and overall footprint, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientist. Read more in this article from AgriLife Today.

  • [Podcast] Significant Increase in Soybean Yields From Grazing Cattle

    This week’s podcast, sponsored by GS3 Quality Seed, features Humberto Blanco, a soil scientist with the University of Nebraska. Blanco will discuss a 16-year study he has done on cattle and soil compaction, soil ecosystem services, how the timing of grazing cattle affects compaction and more.
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Preventing Saline Soils

Lee Briese, a crop consultant from North Dakota, shares tips on how growers can prevent their soils from becoming saline in the first place.
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Soil Health

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Tom-Cotter

Going 'Gung-Hoe.’ Tom Cotter built this 16-row, 40-foot-wide machine out of an old Gandy Orbit-Air seeder and two 8-row rotary hoes to interseed cover crops into standing corn at the V4-V6 stage. “The whole thing cost me less than $4,000,” says Cotter. “It’s cheap, easy and versatile.”

  • [Podcast] Every Drop of Water Counts

    This week’s podcast, sponsored by NewLeaf Symbiotics, features Anthony Bly, Soils Field Specialist with South Dakota State University. Bly will discuss the interconnecting relationship between water and soil, how cover crops fit into profitable cropping systems, the importance of minimal soil disturbance and more.

  • [Podcast] Look for Signs of Soil Biology as Winter Approaches

    This week’s podcast, sponsored by GS3 Quality Seed, features Jamie Patton, Senior Outreach Specialist, Nutrient & Pest Management, University of Wisconsin. Patton will discuss what soil health going into winter, why growers should invest in soil testing, when to conduct soil testing and more.

  • [Video] Preventing Saline Soils

    Lee Briese, a crop consultant from North Dakota, shares tips on how growers can prevent their soils from becoming saline in the first place.

  • Using Cover Crops to Reduce Nitrate Leaching

    Several communities in Nebraska are facing growing concerns of increasing groundwater nitrate concentration in their municipal wells. Growing cover crops during the winter fallow period is one of the best management practices for reducing nitrate leaching and improving soil resilience. Read more in this article from the University of Nebraska.

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