Cover crops—which are typically added to a crop rotation in between two commodity or forage crops—provide living, seasonal soil cover with a variety of on-farm benefits, such as increased soil moisture capacity, improved nutrient cycling, and weed suppression. Cover crops can also provide public benefits by reducing sediment loss, nutrient runoff, and leaching; reducing flooding; and storing carbon in the soil. Read more in this article from USDA Economic Research Service.

Populations of true armyworm (Mythimna unipuncta) exceeding economic thresholds have been reported in Minnesota. Be sure to scout corn that was planted into a grass cover crop or where dense grassy weeds were controlled post-emerge. Read more in this article from the Faribault Daily News (Faribault, MN).

Crop roller “crimping” has become a common way to mechanically terminate cover crops. Crimpers are used to kill grass cover crops (cereal rye, barley, wheat, sorghum, Sudan, pearl millet), vetches (hairy and common), annual clovers (crimson and balansa), buckwheat, and multi-species cover crops. Read more in this article from Ohio's Country Journal.

There's still time to apply herbicides yet this fall, says Ohio State University Extension, which are a key component of marestail management programs.