Due to the very wet spring in 2019, farmers were forced to work their soil wetter then they prefer to be able to plant their crop. When soils are tilled when wet, soil compaction will occur. When soils are compacted they are less productive and less healthy. Compacted soils have less pore space, and that means that plant roots might not be able to 'breathe,‘ and both root development and nutrient uptake are restricted.

A Shropshire, England, grower is trying to limit the damaging effect of heavy cultivations for potato crops to his light soils through the use of cover crops. He has seen worm numbers increase since introducing the cover crops to his rotation. Learn more in this article from Farmers Weekly.

As soybeans started to blossom in Andy Lacey’s field west of Trent, another plant was in full bloom, sprouting clusters of white within the rows of beans. The white were the flowers of buckwheat — one of three cover crop species Lacey planted a week after his soybeans this spring. Find out how Lacey captures sunlight in this article from Tri-State Neighbor.

Cover crops protect soil and water quality and often provide a valuable source of livestock feed. However, not much research has been done regarding the value and viability of using cover crops for forage. A new study supported by the Iowa Nutrient Research Center and Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture evaluated the use of cover crops to get a better understanding of its forage yield and quality, cattle performance, and soil health. Find out more in this article by Michaela King with Hay & Forage Grower.

There's this idea floating around that cover crops will take up nitrogen this growing season and then release that nitrogen for next year's crop. Add on top of that, an ability to anticipate when that nitrogen will be released by selecting specific cover crops in a mix (this is the C:N ratio stuff you hear about). Find out more in this article from AgWeek by Abbey Wick, North Dakota State University Extension Soil Health Specialist.

Balancing the supply and demand of nitrogen (N) in crop production is challenging. In most cases, application of N fertilizer is needed to ensure that adequate N is available to corn. Nitrogen that is not taken up by plants can be lost from cropping systems as nitrate through leaching or runoff, according to this article from the University of Minnesota Extension.

Free fact sheets from the Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) program explore the many ways cover crops can maintain soil and benefit the farm ecosystem, including improving soil conditions and preventing pollution; keeping nutrients out of waterways; covering the soil to prevent erosion; sequestering carbon and more.

Recent research published in the Soil Science Society of America Journal compared farming systems that received different amounts and types of organic matter sourced from compost and cover crops. The results reiterated that soil enzyme activity confirms the importance of frequent cover cropping in tillage-intensive organic vegetable production.

Brad Zimmerman openly admits it was daunting when he “was handed the checkbook” to the farm after his father passed away. Zimmerman, of Groveland, a fifth-generation farmer and Tazewell County Soil and Water Conservation District director, shared his journey into farming and his experiences using cover crops at the recent Illinois SWCD annual conference in this article from AgriNews.

Environmental regulators are rightly getting tougher on Minnesota River pollution, and meeting environmental standards will require residents, businesses and farmers to make difficult changes to their way of life, according to this article from the Albert Lea Tribune.