Cover crops - Articles

Livestock Grazing on Cover Crops Improves Soil Health

July 24, 2020 | Posted in Grazing

Source: Farm Forum

In 2016, Shawn Freeland to make a difficult decision. The 45-year-old Caputa, S.D., rancher attended a Grassland Coalition Grazing School. In addition to reducing his stocking density on rangeland, he no-till drilled a diverse cover crop mix on irrigated hay acres. Read more in this article from Farm Forum (Aberdeen, SD).

[Video] Cover Crops That are Ideal for Winter

July 22, 2020 | Posted in Termination

Overwintering cover crops can be planted in early to mid-fall and can provide soil cover, nitrogen production, and weed suppression. Find out more in this video from University of Arkansas Extension about what cover crop species are best for overwintering, which species produce large quantities of biomass, how to ensure cover crops enable good nitrogen fixation, and more.

[Podcast] Cover Crop Management Tips

In this Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction podcast from the Illinois Corn Association, host Todd Gleason from University of Illinois interviews three cover crop experts on managing covers.

July 21, 2020 | Posted in Soil Health

In this Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction podcast from the Illinois Corn Association, host Todd Gleason from University of Illinois interviews three cover crop experts on managing covers.

Cover Crop Use Has Remained Steady Since 2016, Ag Retailer Study Finds

By Sarah Hill posted on July 21, 2020

Growers tend to “buy local” more than the average consumer, in my experience. This is not a bad thing. However, patronizing the local ag retailer can play a role in what services a grower can utilize, including cover crops.

New Factors Influence Cover Crop Choices

July 20, 2020 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: Country Guide

In the midst of a renaissance in soil health, researchers, agronomists and extension personnel have been pushing the message that everything a grower does in a field is connected to everything else. Fertility is linked to planting depth, just as mycorrhizal fungi are connected to weed management. Read more in this article from Country Guide.

Time to Start Thinking About Cover Crops

July 17, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices

Source: Aberdeen News

Producers are beginning to harvest small grains; these crops provide an excellent window for adding a cover crop into your rotation. Whether you grow a small grain or would like to fit a cover crop into your row crop rotation, there are many considerations to make. Read more in this article from the Aberdeen News (Aberdeen, SD).

Cover Crops Can Help Control Nitrogen Loss

July 17, 2020 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: AgriNews

Lessons learned from field scale cover crop trials have transitioned to a watershed scale and continue to show the system’s benefits in controlling nitrogen loss. Shalamar Armstrong, Purdue University assistant professor of soil conservation and management in the Department of Agronomy, is a co-investigator with Illinois State University faculty in the Lake Bloomington watershed trials. Read more in this article from AgriNews.

Optimizing Corn Yields After Cereal Rye

July 17, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices, Soil Health

Alison Robertson, Professor and Extension Field Crops Pathologist with Iowa State University discusses why cereal rye is a vector for diseases in corn, why timing of planting corn after cereal rye is very important, how pythium impacts corn yields, and more.

[Podcast] Choose Cover Crop Goals First

Chris Reynolds, certified crop advisor and resource conservationist from Illinois discusses why species choice is important when analyzing covers, how to determine planting dates for cover crops, when growers should start thinking about covers in the season, and more.

July 16, 2020 | Posted in Grazing

Chris Reynolds, certified crop advisor and resource conservationist from Illinois discusses why species choice is important when analyzing covers, how to determine planting dates for cover crops, when growers should start thinking about covers in the season, and more.

More Land Required to Produce Cover Crop Seed

July 15, 2020 | Posted in Economics

Source: Seed World

The growth in cover cropping may soon hit a ceiling: planting millions of acres of cover crops will require huge extensions of land to produce cover crop seed. Between 3 and 6% of the 92 million acres of cropping land currently used for corn in the U.S. may be required to produce cover crop seed for that land area. Read more in this article from Seed World.