Seeding Practices

Illinois Farmer Gives Advice on Planting Green

May 20, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices

Source: Go Seed

While it’s not a new concept, an increasingly popular practice is to plant cash crops directly into living cover crops. The science behind it is sound – allowing producers to push the benefits of their cover crops to the max and take advantage of things like added organic matter and nutrient release.

60 Inch Wide Corn Rows Can Triple Your Bottom Line

May 20, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices, Soil Health

Retired engineer Bob Recker is an expert on wide row corn. In this week’s podcast, Recker explains why dedicating half of your corn growing space can triple your bottom line with little impact on corn yields, how 60-inch corn rows can improve soil health and water quality, why research and development are happening every day on the farm, and more. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators) Editor’s note: For clarification, there has been no research stating that using 60 inch wide corn rows adds significant financial benefit.

Getting Out of the Rut with No-Tilling, Cover Crop Interseeding, Weed Suppression

Tom Cotter is boosting the value of his soils in the heart of the Corn Belt by putting the iron away and keeping his fields covered and active year round.

By Angela Lovell posted on May 19, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices, Soil Health

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut with farming, but that’s a major reason Tom Cotter did the opposite of that and turned to no-tilling and interseeding cover crops to rejuvenate his farm.

Cover Crops Can Help with Superweeds

May 15, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices

Source: Capital Press

Weed suppressing methods such as crop rotation and cover cropping as non-chemical modes of action. Farmers say they’ve seen herbicide-resistant weeds decrease when using cover crops. Read more in this article from Capital Press.

[Video] Getting Your Drill Ready to Seed Cover Crops

May 13, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices

Paul Gross, Field Crops Educator with Michigan State University Extension, explains why calibrating your grain drill is one of the most important things to do when planting cover crop seed, the differences when preparing to plant a single cover crop species or a cover crop mix, why you should always measure 200 feet in the field before calibration, and more.

Cover Crops & Crop Insurance

May 13, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices, Soil Health

In this week’s podcast, crop insurance expert and Wisconsin farmer Ryan Stockwell with the National Wildlife Federation discusses why crop insurance regulations are outdated, why crop insurance eligibility rules are unfavorable to cover crops, how crop insurance will be evolving, and more.

Tips for Terminating Cover Crops Without Glyphosate

With the popular weed killer in legal straits in the U.S., no-tillers say they’d turn to other chemicals, rollers or other options. But most won’t give up on cover crops.

By John Dobberstein posted on May 8, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices, Termination

Glyphosate has been invaluable to no-tillers in North America and overseas as an inexpensive, effective tool for not only killing weeds but also terminating cover crops ahead of or after planting.

Is Organic No-Till Soybean Production Feasible in Ontario?

May 8, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices

Source: Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA)

Organic soybean production relies on a significant amount of tillage. When done well, yields can rival conventional production. Read more in this article from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs.