Maryland growers may see a change in the laws around cover crops. Frederick County Delegate Ken Kerr (D) plans to re-introduce a bill that would allow farmers growing cover crops to harvest them. Currently, the state of Maryland pays growers $75 per acre to grow covers, but if they take the money, they aren’t allowed to harvest the crop.

Each crop year is different, and there will be various reasons influencing the decision of what cover crops to use — the amount of biomass you want produced, your preferred method of cover crop termination, weed control, and more. You have to choose cover crops that are best for your operation, the weather, soil conditions and cash crops.

Farming is no different than sports, especially when implementing a new practice like cover planting crops. Out of the many growers I’ve talked to, those who have achieved success have a mentor, or multiple mentors to show them the ropes and get them moving in the right direction.

If New Year’s resolutions are your thing, I encourage you to include cover crops as part of that plan for your farming operation.

What other opportunities do we miss in the agriculture industry, and in life, because on the surface, they may not look like they are worth taking? Cover crops are a perfect example.

It’s not often that we think about what happens to the soil in the field. To be honest, that topsoil is probably the component that is most taken for granted in a cropping system of any kind. So, what happens when we lose any of that precious soil to wind or water erosion?

The state of Illinois recently released their biennial Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy Report. The state has struggled with nutrient pollution in waterways and utilizing covers has been identified as a method for mitigating nutrient runoff. The problem lies in the rate of cover crop adoption. According to the report, it will be 200 years before Illinois will plant enough cover crops to make a significant reduction in nutrient runoff.

If you’re lucky enough to have completed harvest before snow fell on your fields — but haven’t planted a cover crop yet — not to worry. Planning ahead for a late winter or early spring frost seeding of covers might still be a viable alternative.