Cover crops - Articles

Canadian Cover Crop Research Compares Crop Rotation With and Without Covers

February 7, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices

Source: Grainews

Last summer, many large-scale cover crop trials were underway across the Prairies looking at everything from cover crop combinations, rotations and planting methods to pollinator strips. Trials are taking place at five locations: the University of Manitoba’s Carman and Glenlea research farms, the University of Saskatchewan at Saskatoon, South East Research Farm at Redvers, Sask., and Farming Smarter at Lethbridge, Alta. Find out more in this article from Grainews.

Cover Crops: What’s Old is New Again

By Sarah Hill posted on February 4, 2020

There is a saying that everything that is old becomes new again. Many things come and go in a cycle. I saw evidence of how cover crops were once utilized by farmers on a Facebook page I follow that talks about covers. Someone posted an excerpt from the book Agriculture for Southern Schools by John Frederick Duggar, which was published in 1910, that discussed cover crops at length.

[Podcast] Cover Crops and Forage: A Win-Win

Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff welcomes guest speaker Monte Bottens, a California crop consultant, in this week’s podcast to discuss how to choose the best cover crop mixes for grazing, how to scale regenerative agriculture, how cash cropping can mesh with grazing livestock, and more.

February 4, 2020 | Posted in Grazing

Using cover crops as forage for livestock is a profitable and effective way to make cover crops a win-win situation. Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff welcomes guest speaker Monte Bottens, a California crop consultant, in this week’s podcast to discuss how to choose the best cover crop mixes for grazing, how to scale regenerative agriculture, how cash cropping can mesh with grazing livestock, and more. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

Cover Crops and Forage: A Win-Win

February 4, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices, Soil Health

Using cover crops as forage for livestock is a profitable and effective way to make cover crops a win-win situation. Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff welcomes guest speaker Monte Bottens, a California crop consultant, in this week’s podcast to discuss how to choose the best cover crop mixes for grazing, how to scale regenerative agriculture, how cash cropping can mesh with grazing livestock, and more.

[Podcast] Having the Hard Conversations About Cover Crops

Cover crops are particularly impressive at controlling weeds in a vegetable production system, says Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

January 30, 2020 | Posted in Economics

Although cover crops are becoming more mainstream, there are still those growers out there who are resistant to the idea, according to Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

Having the Hard Conversations About Cover Crops

January 30, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices, Soil Health

Although cover crops are becoming more mainstream, there are still those growers out there who are resistant to the idea, according to Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff. This podcast shares tips on how to have conversations with your neighbors and other farmers about using cover crops.

Cover Crops Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Pecan Orchard

January 29, 2020 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: Environmental Defense Fund

You don’t typically hear farmers saying they want to attract bugs to their farm, but that’s what a unique conservation project in California’s Sacramento Valley is doing – determining whether cover crops can attract more at-risk native pollinators, like monarch butterflies, in addition to insects that serve as pest control, like ladybugs. The project came about thanks to a $3-million monarch and pollinator recovery bill (AB 2421) designed to establish habitat restoration projects for important pollinator species facing steep population losses. Find out more in this blog post from the Environmental Defense Fund.

[Video] New to Cover Crops? Try Oats!

January 28, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices

In this video from Michigan State University Extension, Cover Crop & Soil Health Educator Christina Curell explains why oats are a good choice as a cover crop, how oats can help with weed suppression and more.

State Looks to Remove Barrier to Growing Cover Crops

By Sarah Hill posted on January 27, 2020

Maryland growers may see a change in the laws around cover crops. Frederick County Delegate Ken Kerr (D) plans to re-introduce a bill that would allow farmers growing cover crops to harvest them. Currently, the state of Maryland pays growers $75 per acre to grow covers, but if they take the money, they aren’t allowed to harvest the crop.

Cover Crops Are a Return on Investment

January 27, 2020 | Posted in Economics

Source: Lancaster Farming

Improving water quality is not money down the drain. In fact, conservation practices, like cover crops, can save Pennsylvania farmers money and increase productivity, according to a report released in November by the Environmental Defense Fund and ag consultancy K-Coe Isom. Find out how four Pennsylvania dairy producers used cover crops as one tactic to put more green back in their pockets in this article from Lancaster Farming.