One of the most interesting cover crop seeders on display at the 2023 Agritechnica show in Hanover, Germany was Muthing's CoverSeeder — a machine that won the the silver medal as part of Agritechnica's 2022 Innovation Awards last year.

Good morning, from Alexandria, Minn., Mackane Vogel here, with this week’s cover crop connection. I’m here at the Soil Management Summit and this morning we are going through some live demonstrations. Why don’t we check in with Anna Cates of University of Minnesota Extension for a live cover crop demonstration.

Cereal rye can be used to suppress weeds. At this Brooklyn, Wisconsin, field day, Jose Nunes, a graduate student at weed scientist Rodrigo Werle’s UW-Madison research and extension lab, shared his findings about how much cereal rye biomass is needed for optimal weed suppression.

Roger Murdock, director of sales & marketing for Montag Manufacturing, took some time to show me one of the company’s newest cover crop innovations. Check out this clip of Murdock talking about the key features of Montag’s Cover Crop Plus and what makes it ideal for planting cover crops of all different species, especially those with smaller seeds.

Gary Zimmer, a grower in Spring Green, Wis., who some refer to as the “father of biological farming,” hosted a field day on his farm over the summer and explained why soil fertility has to involve the exchange of nutrients in a carbon biological cycle. According to Zimmer, too many farmers simply lay fertilizer on top of their land and fail to connect their nutrients to a carbon source. Here is Gary talking about his unique approach to cover crops and how they help with soil fertility on his farm.

Jim Stute, an independent research agronomist and farmer member of the watershed protection committee of Racine County in Wisconsin, is helping to lead a long-term comparison of conventional tillage vs. no-till and cover crops. After just 1 year, the study still has a long way to go, but initially, Stute is seeing a 26.3 bushel per acre yield advantage with conventional. And most importantly, Stute says what he thinks they can do next year to shift those results.

Today we’re talking with Jeff Schluckbier, who grows corn, sugar beets and wheat in Tuscola County, Mich. Jeff uses sunflowers, radish, clover, oats, cereal rye and Austrian winter peas. He says cover crops are paying off big time in his 7,500-acre operation, especially during heavy rainfall events.