The application of manure after the growth and demise of legume cover crops in rotations is a recipe to increase nitrous oxide releases during ensuing corn growth, according to a team of Penn State researchers who conducted a new study.

This week’s podcast, sponsored by GS3 Quality Seed, features Katie Lewis, a Soil Chemistry and Fertility Specialist with Texas A&M University. Lewis will discuss why fitting cover crops into crop rotations is challenging, how growers can gain higher profits from using covers in crop rotations, why growers should devote time to planning their cover crops and more.

Researchers at the University of Wyoming (UW) are studying sunn hemp as a potential forage crop for producers in the state. This tropical legume, unrelated to industrial hemp and cannabis, is known to perform well under hot growing conditions and add nitrogen into the system. Read more in this article from the Wyoming Livestock Roundup.

In non-irrigated systems, adding cover crops into the rotation can decrease crop yields if precipitation is limited; however, the use of cover crops for forage may offset costs while retaining soil benefits. This on-farm research study was designed with a system’s perspective incorporating crops, cattle and cover crops in a non-irrigated setting while including the economics of the entire system. Read more in this article from the University of Nebraska.

Diversifying crop rotations can offer significant positive results, improving soil health and boosting biological activity and nutrient cycling. Cronin Farms, a no-till operation based near Gettysburg, S.D., has crop rotations down to a science, including forages and cover crops.

Farmers who make soil health a priority are more likely to rotate three or more crops and to graze livestock on cropland, according to a survey of producers in South Dakota, North Dakota and Nebraska. The survey examined why some agricultural producers prioritize soil health and how to encourage more producers to adopt these conservation practices, according to assistant professor Tong Wang of South Dakota State University’s Ness School of Management and Economics. Read more in this article from Newswise.

In this video produced for the SARE National Conference on Cover Crops & Soil Health, Michigan farmer John Burk tells about his strategies for incorporating various cover crop mixes into his rotation of corn, soybeans, sugar beets and wheat.