With the short-season available for growing cover crops after corn harvest, interest in interseeding cover crops into corn and soybean crops has increased in recent years. Interseeding is primarily done with a drill early in the season prior to crop canopy closure or via broadcast seeding late in the season, prior to harvest when the crop canopy begins to re-open. Read more in this article from University of Nebraska Extension.

Consider improving pasture stands and forage production with either frost seeding or interseeding this spring. Additionally, here are some guidelines to consider in order to optimize the success of frost seeding or interseeding. Read more in this article from Iowa State University Extension.

Summer interseeding may be a good cover crop strategy for farmers with shorter growing seasons. So says the first-year results from a USDA-sponsored soil health demonstration project in northern Iowa. Read more in this article from the Aberdeen News (Aberdeen, S.D.).

This week’s podcast, sponsored by Yetter Equipment, features the second of a two-part series featuring Austin Carlson, Soil Health Technician with the South Dakota Soil Health Coalition. In part 2, Carlson discusses when interseeding should occur, interseeding a cover crop mix vs. a single cover crop species, environmental conditions that impact interseeding, and more.

With harvest season upon us, that means it’s also time for another major undertaking — planting covers after harvest. A recent cover crop survey by the Soil Health Partnership found that more than half of farmers planted cover crops between the middle of September and the beginning of November.

Cover crop adoption across the U.S. is on the rise, but Minnesota adoption has hovered around 2%. While Midwestern farmers understand the importance of soil health, adopting sustainable technologies that offer limited near-term economic returns is challenging. Read more in this article from University of Minnesota Extension.

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.

Dr. Kim Cassida, Forage & Cover Crop Specialist with Michigan State University, explains how to increase forage yield in alfalfa, why you should reconsider planting spring-seeded alfalfa, how alfalfa acts like a cover crop in corn, and more.