It's a bit more challenging to fit cover crops into a tillage system, but there are opportunities if you create them, says Steve Groff.

When planting cover crops, there are three factors to keep in mind in the context of using herbicides to control weeds: the herbicide half-life, the amount of rainfall received and the amount of organic matter.

More growers are increasingly becoming interested in raising organic crops. While food-grade organic crops merit a larger return on investment, they also require a high level of quality and present unique challenges in marketing those crops.

Strip tilling with cover crops is taking off in many regions of the U.S. and is relatively inexpensive. Seeding cover crops can occur during fall strip-tilling but comes with its own challenges in the spring.

Determining the best time to plant covers is a critical element to their success. It’s important to know how late in the season you can plant covers to plan buying cover crop seed and working around potential fall inclement weather.

The concept of planting cash crops into living cover crops is gaining more momentum among growers every year. But is your planter and management up for the task? (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

Cover crops certainly produce a lot of benefits for growers in terms of soil health and nutrient management — but how, exactly, do you make them pay? Steve Groff says there are a several directions to go in that will build a solid foundation for economic benefits. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

The period after wheat harvest in many states provides a golden opportunity for growers to add some diverse cover crop mixes in their fields that provide numerous benefits. But which species are best suited for this planting window and what’s the best way to establish them? (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

Mixing radish seed with cash grain wheat has led to yield increases of up to 12 bushels per acre in some areas. The synergy was discovered by accident by late no-tiller Ed Winkle of Ohio after a hired worker left radishes in a seed mixer. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

In the second part of a two-part series on this topic, Holtwood, Pa., farmer and Cover Crop Coach Steve Groff will discuss management decisions for rolling with or without using herbicides, the weed-control potential of rolled covers, using cover crop mixes in this type of system, and how to evaluate whether your planter can work effectively in rolled covers. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)