Dan Crummett has more than 30 years in regional and national agricultural journalism including editing state farm magazines, web-based machinery reporting and has an interest in no-till and conservation tillage. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees from Oklahoma State Univ.

Direct Use of Cover Crops Boosts Beef Production

While cover crop discussions usually hover around soil health & managing residue in row crops, many graziers realize profitable returns from using covers as high-quality forage.

By Dan Crummett posted on May 30, 2023 | Posted in Grazing, Soil Health

In 2015, Jack Gorczyca retired from his 33-year career as an ag teacher, bought a Case 550 dozer and set about preparing 160 acres of hilly, timbered land as the basis of a full-time cattle operation.

Banking Cover Crop Benefits for Prolonged Soil Health Payoff

Indiana grower Jason Federer says long-standing use of cover crops is helping transition away from chemicals as he counts soil health the ultimate “long-term profit.”

By Dan Crummett posted on August 28, 2022 | Posted in Seeding Practices, Soil Health, Termination

Jason Federer says he’s been around cover cropping for as long as he can remember. He recalls watching his father frost-seed alfalfa and clover into wheat on their farm near Wolcott in northwest Indiana.

Fulfilling a Soil Health Promise with Strategic Strip-Till, Cover Cropping

Iowa’s Jack Boyer uses cover crops to build soil for his Century Farm’s seed corn and soybean production, and reaps the benefits of additional nitrogen they add to his fields.

By Dan Crummett posted on June 28, 2019 | Posted in Soil Health

Maintaining an Iowa Century Farm while fulfilling the family goal of leaving the land in better condition than it was received, has led Jack Boyer a long way from the conventional farming his wife’s grandfather used when he settled the farm.

Diversified Crops and Grazing Cattle Provide No-Till Benefits

Northwest Kansas no-tiller says his soil building and nutrient cycling didn’t start until he added livestock to his diversified farming operation. He credits grazing and cover crops for erosion control and yield increases.

By Dan Crummett posted on February 28, 2019 | Posted in Soil Health

When Michael Thompson was 18 he envisioned himself joining his parents in their farming operation in northwestern Kansas and becoming a dedicated, 100% cash grain farmer. However, life and generations of conventional farming got in the way.

Cover Crop Interest Keeps Equipment Makers Busy

Equipment makers strive to build machines capable of successfully establishing cover crops in a wide variety of farm locations and circumstances. Seed-to-soil contact and precision efficiency are top goals.

By Dan Crummett posted on February 1, 2019 | Posted in Seeding Practices

Since 2012, when annual surveys began tracking adoption rates for the use of cover crops in U.S. agriculture, all signs point to steady growth in the practice as growers search for ways to reduce farm inputs and erosion and improve water infiltration in their fields.

Videos

Cereal Rye vs. Winter Wheat: Is One Better than the Other?

This week I traveled to Weninger Farms for a Pre-Planting Clinic hosted by the Dodge County Farmers for Healthy Soil & Healthy Water. The event was filled with lots of great discussions and presentations. Here’s Cover Crop Specialist Brendon Blank answering the age old question of which one is better: winter wheat or cereal rye?

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Dan Crummett

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