This week’s podcast, sponsored by Yetter Equipment, features Bill Buessing, a grower from Axtell, Kan. Buessing will be a speaker at the upcoming Spring 2021 National Cover Crop Summit. Buessing shares a sneak peek of his presentation, discussing how he adds various cover crop species to crop rotations as forage for his cattle and sheep to graze while building soil health and fixing valuable nutrients in the soil, which has allowed him to cut back on fertilizer.

With many cover crops planted into dry soils, particularly in western Iowa, there may not have been ideal germination or growth before winter. With the addition of sub-zero temperatures, fields will need to have enough snow cover for the cover crop to survive. Read more in this article from Iowa Farmer Today.

Of those farmers who used cover crops and answered this question, 53% (83 respondents) indicated they had planted corn into a green cover crop —in most cases, a grassy cover crop. The cover crop was less than 10 inches tall in 63% of green planting situations. Read more in this article from the University of Nebraska.

Growing dual-purpose wheat for both grazing and grain production is an important agricultural practice in the Southern Great Plains. But of late, more Texas Rolling Plains producers want to know if alternative systems to dual-purpose wheat, such as grazing cover crops, can bring additional value. Read more in this article from AgriLife Today.

Charlie Edinger, a grower from South Dakota, shares his experiences using cover crops to manage moisture in the growing season to soak up excess moisture and prepare his fields for planting cash crops.

By definition, cover crops are planted to protect the soil and contribute to improved soil health. However, often these annual forages are also grazed or harvested as livestock feed in the spring or early summer in an effort to make them more cost effective. Read more in this story from Hay & Forage Grower.