Cover crops - Articles

California Pecan Orchards Find Success Using Cover Crops to Reduce Pest Pressure

August 5, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices

Last fall, two farms in California’s Sacramento Valley planted a wildflower cover crop mix as part of a commitment to restore habitat within 325 acres of pecan orchards. The farms, Pacific Gold Agriculture and Bypass Farms, are participating in a project called “Orchards Alive” in hopes that wildflowers will attract pollinators and naturally reduce pest pressure. Read more in this article from the Environmental Defense Fund.

Cover Crops: Why Not Give it a Try?

August 3, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices

Source: York News Times

On a hot, dry, and extremely windy day in early June, Neal Hentzen surveys the dryland field on the edge of Seward where his corn is ankle high. The leaves on the plants whip in the wind like green streamers running in long, straight rows from the road to a faraway fencepost. Read more in this article from the York News Times (York, NE).

Soil Changes When Cover Crops are Grown

August 3, 2020 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: Southern SARE

Florida vegetable farmers who grow cover crops as a green manure between their cash crops anecdotally tout the health benefits, but a two-year study by University of Florida has provided the research to back it up. In a Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SSARE) On-Farm Research Grant, University of Florida soil health expert Jehangir (Jango) Bhadha shadowed the cover crop practices of eight farmers across the state to measure the benefits of using cover crops (mainly cow pea and sunn hemp) as a soil amendment and nutrient source for subsequent cash crops.

Planting Cover Crops After Wheat

July 31, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices

Source: Ohio's Country Journal

Warm season cover crops grow in the summer but die with the first frost while cool season species generally survive the winter. Major categories include brassicas, grasses, legumes, and other broadleaves with over 60 species. Read more in this article from Ohio's Country Journal.

Universities Studying Wide-Row Corn with Cover Crops

July 29, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices

Source: AgWeek

If you’re on Twitter, you’ve likely seen a lot of buzz around wide-row corn (44-inch or 60-inch) with cover crops seeded between rows. The goal is to space the corn rows out to provide more light for the cover crops to establish and put on some biomass for grazing, attract pollinators or to add diversity to the system. Read more in this article from AgWeek.

[Podcast] Cover Crops & Voles

Voles can be an ongoing problem for farmers, but planting cover crops can actually help deter the pests, according to this week’s podcast from Hoosier Ag Today featuring two Purdue University masters students. Find out effective predators for naturally dealing with voles, why voles don’t like brassicas, and why to avoid nitrogen fixing cover crops.

July 27, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices

Voles can be an ongoing problem for farmers, but planting cover crops can actually help deter the pests, according to this week’s podcast from Hoosier Ag Today featuring two Purdue University masters students. Find out effective predators for naturally dealing with voles, why voles don’t like brassicas, and why to avoid nitrogen fixing cover crops.

Summer Cover Crops Planted in Wheat Stubble

July 27, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices

Source: Dodge City Daily Globe

Given the current dry conditions and the prospect that this may continue you may think that the last thing I would be wanting to talk about is planting cover crops. But cover crops can provide as many benefits in dry periods as they can wet periods, especially in fallow systems where there will not be a cash crop planted until next spring. Read more in this article from the Dodge City Daily Globe (Dodge City, KS).

Research on Cover Crops Essential for Restoring Soil

July 27, 2020 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: Herald Journal News (Logan, UT)

Due to the increased demand for efficiency, farmers have had to pull more resources from the soil to make sure their production practices are as efficient as possible. The extra demand for resources from the soil has led to a decrease in overall soil health. Read more in this article from the Herald Journal News (Logan, UT).

Equipment Options Make Interseeding a Viable Practice

Planting covers into a living cash crop can be a challenge, but many growers are using the right tools to make interseeding work and extend cover crop benefits.

By John Dobberstein posted on July 24, 2020

Whether by airplane, spreader or toolbar, interseeding cover crops into cash crops is a trend that appears to be growing in popularity as a way for growers to accommodate weather challenges, increase crop diversity and boost soil health more efficiently. The Cover Crop Benchmark Study released this year by Cover Crop Strategies details some of the first in-depth data available in the ag industry on interseeding practices for U.S. farmers, including equipment utilized and planting timings that work for growers.

Wrapping Up Planting Warm Season Cover Crops

July 24, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices

Source: Lincoln Journal Star

The prairies of south central Montana are really starting to come to life. Cali Rooney and her husband Tyler have been busy planting all of their warm season cover crops. These particular cover crop varieties must be planted in soil that consistently stays above 50 degrees, ideally. Read more in this article from the Lincoln Journal Star.