In this audio interview, hear from Steve Kenyon, a grower from Alberta, Canada, as he discusses how he uses cover crops in his custom grazing operation without owning land or livestock, how he's transitioned tilled cropland into pastures with perennial polycultures, what his goals are, and more.
Using cover crops as livestock feed can provide additional synergy to growing cover crops while providing additional soil health benefits and an extra income stream.
I recently spoke with three Ohio cover crop growers who have found an innovative way to incorporate manure using a dragline application. The dragline is also a unique tool for terminating their 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 2016, Shawn Freeland to make a difficult decision. The 45-year-old Caputa, S.D., rancher attended a Grassland Coalition Grazing School. In addition to reducing his stocking density on rangeland, he no-till drilled a diverse cover crop mix on irrigated hay acres. Read more in this article from Farm Forum (Aberdeen, SD).
The majority of growers grazed livestock on less than 300 cover crop acres and most do not rent out their acreage for grazing in spite of the income potential.
For growers who use cover crops, grazing is the next level of utilization if the proper opportunity presents itself. If a grower owns their own livestock, cover crops are an additional feed source, especially during winter months when hay and other forages are more expensive.
Planting green and integrating livestock is helping South Dakota no-tiller Jordan Reimnitz reduce soil erosion and improve soil health, improve livestock health and stretch winter feed supplies.
Grower and livestock producer Jordan Reimnitz has seen the benefits of going completely no-till on his family farm and adding cover crops to enhance the benefits.
Steve Tucker still remembers driving around on the farm with his grandfather and hearing him say, “I should hope you never have to go through something like the 1930s and the drought that I went through.”
Once a no-tiller by necessity, John Stigge continues to push the limits of his Kansas farm by experimenting with cover-crop mixes and grazing cattle.
May 14, 2016
DESPERATION pushed us into no-till. It was the early 1980s and it wasn’t a great time to be a farmer. It also wasn’t a great time to need new equipment, which we did, unfortunately. We were out of money so instead of buying big new tractors and heavy new tillage implements, we made a few tweaks to our planter, took a deep breath and started no-tilling our crops.
Source: By Carol Brown, Liz Juchems, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
Cover crops are planted in the fall and stay on fields over the winter, covering the ground with foliage and holding soil in place with their roots. These assets help to slow soil erosion and reduce nitrate leaching, thereby improving water quality. They also improve soil health and productivity and suppress weeds. Many farmers are seeking management advice about implementing cover crops into their corn-soybean rotations.
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.