Cover crops - Articles

I55 Dust Storm Crash Illinois State Police.jpeg

Cover Crops: Responsible Choice for Preventing Deadly Dust Storms

By Michaela Paukner posted on May 18, 2023 | Posted in Soil Health

On May 1, 2023, high winds blew soil from recently tilled fields across a 2-mile stretch of Interstate 55 in central Illinois, causing blackout-type visibility on the roads. Seven people died and another 37 were hurt in a 70-car pileup resulting from the dust storm.

Could Cover Crops Have Prevented Deadly Illinois Dust Storm?

By Noah Newman posted on May 4, 2023 | Posted in Soil Health

No-till innovator and retired USDA soil scientist Don Reicosky says an incident like this should never happen in the Corn Belt, a region containing what he calls “the best soils in the world!"

Winter Cover Crops Could Reduce Nitrogen in Drainage Water by 30%

April 25, 2023 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: University of Illinois

As Corn Belt states seek ways to curb nitrogen flow from farms into the Gulf of Mexico, new University of Illinois research adds evidence for winter cover crops as an important part of the solution.

Pull the Plug on Planting Green if Weather is Unseasonably Warm?

April 13, 2023

Source: Penn State Extension

Research from Penn State and other institutions shows that planting green significantly dries the top three inches in the soil profile compared to planting into cover crops killed a week or more pre-plant, because the growing cover crop transpires and draws water out of the root zone.

Minnesota Research Study Examines Benefits of Combining Cover Crops & Manure

By Jonathan Eisenthal posted on March 28, 2023 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: Minnesota Corn Growers Association

Cover crops and manure are tools that help farmers keep soil in place and provide nutrients for row crops. University of Minnesota Extension Associate Professor Melissa Wilson has spent three growing seasons looking at the best ways to use these tools together.

Tennessee, Mississippi Farmers Use Cover Crops to Improve Soil Health

March 16, 2023 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol

Air, water, minerals, and organic matter—both living and non-living– are the basic ingredients of soils. They occur in many combinations. And the relative proportions of these ingredients affect how soil behaves, what kinds of plants grow in it, and how well they grow.

Cover Crops & No-Till Reduce Crop Insurance Claims According to New Study

March 6, 2023 | Posted in Economics

The extremely wet spring of 2019 caused 14.2 million acres of cropland to go unplanted in the Midwest. Farmers across the region had flooded fields that kept them from getting equipment onto the fields to plant their crops. This resulted in over $4 billion of prevent-plant crop insurance claims, which assists farmers when weather conditions keep them from planting a crop altogether.

Farmers: Share Your Experience with Cover Crops in National Survey

A national survey was launched to collect information from farmers who plant and don't plant cover crops.

March 2, 2023 | Posted in Investing in Regenerative Ag

Source: CTIC

A national survey launched to gather insight from farmers who plant cover crops, as well as farmers who don't.

WATCH: Longtime No-Tiller Uses Old Feed Grinder to Blend Cover Crops

By Noah Newman posted on February 24, 2023 | Posted in Seeding Practices

Jeff Duling's creativity is on full display in this video, as the longtime no-tiller explains how he uses an old feed grinder to blend cover crop seeds.

Myth Buster: Can Cover Crops Work in Every Climate?

February 23, 2023 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: NRDC

Even in states where the growing season is a mere four-and-a-half months long, cover crops can help farmers meet specific on-farm goals that they cannot achieve just by having cash crops in their rotation.