Specialty crops offer unique opportunities to include cover crops in the rotation because they are often harvested earlier. This opens a wider window for a late-summer or earlier-fall seeding in which to establish good cover crop growth prior to freezing temperatures.

Here are five reasons to follow specialty crops with cover crops:

1. Avoid bare soil. Specialty crops and silage leave very little cover in a field, and the residue that does remain is fragile. This means the soil is susceptible to erosion until next year’s crop is planted. It also means there is very little material being added back into the soil as organic matter.

2. Address yield-limiting factors. Continuous specialty crops or silage without other crops in the rotation will result in lost productivity and an increase in nutrient inputs to sustain the desired yield or biomass over time. With the addition of cover crops, soil is protected against erosion with a living cover. Cover crops may also help break up soil compaction that otherwise can limit root growth of the specialty crop. Cover crops add organic matter and scavenge leftover nutrients, keeping them from washing away or leaching.

3. Reduce soil compaction. Many specialty crops require additional field trips. This includes immediately after irrigation. Even if all the irrigation water was able to infiltrate the soil, traffic across the soil will cause compaction. However, the real damage can be done at harvest. Establish travel lanes, adjust equipment and tire settings, and consider hauling less than full loads to avoid stress and soil compaction.

Cover crops can also be used to build soil aggregate stability and alleviate compaction.

4. Expand window for cover crop seeding. Harvest of most specialty crops and silage is typically earlier than corn and soybeans, which widens the planting window for cover crops.

If you plan to harvest silage, consider cereal rye, barley and triticale as cover crop options that could be harvested in the spring as green chop. However, if building organic matter is your main goal, harvesting the cover crop may not have the desired effect since most of the plant is removed, but it will provide benefits such as erosion protection and nutrient scavenging while growing.

5. Maximize manure. Cover crops after silage harvest should be standard operating procedure, especially when manure applications are planned. Manure can be applied to an already growing cover crop, or cover crops can be seeded after manure application. The advantage of a growing cover is that it will scavenge nutrients from the manure more quickly, minimizing chances of runoff.

If you are new to cover crops, there are a variety of aspects to include in your cover crop plan. Species selection, seed quality, establishment timing and method, and termination are all important for cover crop success. With a comprehensive plan, specialty crops and silage fields are a great place to test covers and see what works with your operation. Go ahead and give cover crops a try. Who knows — it might be just what you and your soil were missing!

Related Content:

[Podcast] Making Cover Crops Work in Specialty Crops,

How to Avoid Soil Compaction When Grazing Covers,

[Podcast] Combining Cover Crops & Specialty Crops