Whether sourcing cover crop seed to plant for on-farm use or harvesting seed to sell, Chris Gaesser has over a decade of experience with cover crops and in the last few years began selling rye as cover crop seed. He shared tips for harvest and handling of cover crop seed in a small grains shared learning call in early June.
Cover Crop Strategies editors encounter a variety of articles, social media posts, podcasts and videos that offer a unique look at various aspects of our great agricultural industry. Here is our favorite content from the past week. The Best of the Web This Week series is brought to you by Salford Group.
Source: North Dakota State University Extension press release
As a cover crop, rye is particularly useful because it establishes quickly under a wide range of conditions and is a winter annual that has the potential to provide green cover in the fall and the spring prior to the planting of a spring-sown crop. Sometimes, however, a cover crop of rye can reduce the yield of a following cash crop if not properly managed. Read more in this article from North Dakota State University.
Take a look at how a cover crop grows in the fall, both above and below ground. Plant root depth and soil benefits are shown and discussed. Compare 'no cover' to 'rye cover' crop soil structure.
Barry Martin plants peanuts, cotton, corn, soybeans, wheat and grain sorghum, and uses strip till. Rye is his main cover crop, which he burns down before planting peanuts to minimize problems with the cornstalk borer, which appears to thrive in heavy vegetation.
Ben Brockmueller, a South Dakota State University (SDSU) grad student, presented data gathered at the SDSU Southeast Research Farm (SERF) outside of Beresford, SD, that found they averaged roughly 100 bushels per acre on their hybrid rye. Overall, rye seemed to hold up better than most everything tested. Find out more in this article from the Kenosha News.
While there was no time to build an ark to prepare for the “bomb cyclone” that hit Nebraska and other areas of the Midwest this spring, farmer Noah Seim said one of his fields successfully braved the storm because he had established a healthy stand of rye as a cover crop. Read more about Seim's story in this article from The Fence Post.
While there was no time to build an ark to prepare for the most recent “Bomb Cyclone” that hit Nebraska and other areas of the Midwest, Noah Seim, who farms near Worms, Neb., said one of their fields successfully braved the storm because they had established a healthy stand of rye.
The National Strip-Tillage Conference returns August 8-9, 2024!Build and refine your strip-till system with dozens of new ideas and connections at the 11th Annual National Strip-Tillage Conference in Madison, Wis. Aug. 8-9, 2024. Experience an energizing 2-day agenda featuring inspiring general session speakers, expert-led Strip-Till Classrooms and collaborative Strip-Till Roundtables. Plus, Certified Crop Adviser credits will be offered.
Georgetown, Del., no-tiller Jay Baxter was planning on conducting a cover crop experiment with oats, but when Mother Nature got in the way, he quickly pivoted to another idea for a different type of cover crop experiment.