Crop insurance has been perceived as a barrier to growers adopting the use of cover crops to improve their soil health and minimize risk, but that is not the case, according to a peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Environmental Management.
Agricultural land is 45.2 million acres across Nebraska, with that land being used for irrigated and dryland cropping, grazing and hay. Over half of those acres (56%) are owned by farmers and ranchers, while 44% of the land is owned by absentee landowners.
One of the reasons growers choose not to use cover crops is because they don’t think the practice is profitable. However, like with any crop, it all comes down to each individual choice by a grower as to whether covers will be successful.
When it comes to convincing growers to use cover crops in their operations, people make all the difference. That’s what the Nature Conservancy discovered in a study they funded that was done by a Purdue University professor and a researcher who had looked at farms in Indiana, Illinois and Iowa counties with relatively high adoption rates of cover crops.
The practice of using cover crops still has plenty of room for growth, according to the results of the August Purdue Ag Economy Barometer. Forty-one percent of growers with production of more than $500,000 annually said they are currently using cover crops, while 65% of growers responded that they had either used cover crops in the past or were currently using covers.
Growers have several options when it comes to cover crop termination, but herbicides are used by 79% of growers, according to the 2021 Cover Crop Strategies benchmark study. A recent multi-state study funded by the United Soybean board evaluated herbicide options.
The USDA is looking to create a set of pilot projects that provides incentives to implement climate smart conservation practices on working lands and to quantify and monitor the carbon and greenhouse gases associated with those practices. The pilot projects could even expand or develop new and additional markets.
Landowners could receive payments of $25 per acre on up to 1,000 acres if cover crops are established in their fields for the purposes of soil health, according to a preliminary Senate draft of the Build Back Better bill and corresponding budget. Non-operating landowners could receive payments of $5 per acre for encouraging tenants to seed covers on rented fields.
If you haven’t gotten fall covers established yet, now is the time to be seeding them, so many growers are thinking about what species to include in cover crop mixes. Self-seeding black medic might be a good choice.
Kudos to the tiny-but-mighty state of Vermont, which has recorded nearly 30% of its available cropland planted to covers in 2017, according to the Soil Health Institute. That’s far above the U.S. average of 5.6%.
The National No-Tillage Conference returns January 12-15, 2027!Build and refine your no-till system with dozens of new ideas and connections at the 35th Annual National No-Tillage Conference in Indianapolis, Jan. 12-15, 2027. Experience an energizing 4-day agenda featuring inspiring general session speakers, expert-led No-Till Classrooms and collaborative No-Till Roundtables. Plus, Certified Crop Adviser credits will be offered.
This week we are looking at a clip from Cody Hornaday, a technical agronomist with Koch Agronomic Services, as he explains a few tips that no-tillers and cover croppers should keep in mind for unlocking phosphorus in their soils.
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