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?

Last week I had the chance to attend Randall Reeder’s Conservation Tillage & Technology Conference in Ada, Ohio. The event included a star-studded lineup of speakers who touched on no-till, cover crops and all things conservation. I had a chance to chat with retired professor and soil health scientist Warren Dick about his presentation, the conference as a whole and his contribution to no-till’s rich history.  

The 2024 National Cover Crop Summit takes place online from March 12 to 14 and features a stacked lineup of 7 different sessions on all things cover crops. Check out this preview of Missouri agronomist Rob Myers’ presentation on cover crops and how they should be managed during a drought vs. during an especially wet season.

Mackane Vogel here, with this week’s cover crop connection. This week, check out some advice from Merlin, Ontario no-tiller Blake Vince, on how to go about putting together a multi-species cover crop mix.

Mackane Vogel here, with this week’s cover crop connection. I chatted with associate professor at Oregon State University, Rory McDonnell, about his innovative research on combating slugs and snails. Cover croppers and no-tillers often have an especially hard time managing slug and snail pressure, and McDonnell just might have found the bread and butter for knocking out these pests.

At last week’s 32nd Annual National No-Tillage Conference in Indianapolis, I caught up with USDA’s soil health specialist for the state of Indiana, Amanda Kautz. Check out this simulation of a heavy rainfall, and how a conventionally tilled field responds to the rainfall compared to a field with no-till and cover crops.

Mackane Vogel here, with this week’s cover crop connection. I had the opportunity to visit with Brandon, Minnesota farmer John Ledermann and check out his unique strategy for planting cereal rye and corn.