Cover crops are typically used by producers in dryland no-till cropping systems to improve soil health, reduce soil compaction, enhance nutrient cycling, improve soil structure, and improve water infiltration. Producers may be able to realize some income from cover crops by grazing or haying them. But is this a good idea or will it cancel out any benefit the cover crops would otherwise have on soil properties and residue cover?

Pre-emergence herbicides can aid in the control of troublesome weeds such as waterhemp and giant ragweed. They can also result in lower weed densities and a more uniform weed height at the time of postemergence herbicide application, aid in the management of herbicide-resistant weeds, and ultimately help protect crop yield potential and profitability. What if you want to plant a cover crop later in the season? Will a residual herbicide that controls weeds also affect your cover crop?

Two ongoing studies are measuring how much soil is being blown across different fields, and how much nutrients lost with wind erosion might cost farmers. Overall, preliminary data indicates that management makes a difference: leaving residue on a field or planting cover crops, and less aggressive tillage, can slow down soil movement.

Wisconsin joined Illinois, Indiana and Iowa this month in offering a crop insurance discount for growers who plant cover crops. Meanwhile, restructuring to Illinois' conservation programs did not pass in Springfield.

Drought has been prevalent in the northern and western portions of the Corn Belt in recent growing seasons, while southern parts of the Midwest have seen flooding. Cover crops impact both wet and dry soils in the spring.