Crop rotation - Articles

[Video] Meet Multiple Goals with Cover Crop Mixes

April 21, 2021 | Posted in Seeding Practices

In this video from Penn State University, find out what cover crop species make an effective mixture, why adding more cover crop species to a mixture means more functionality, challenges to using cover crop mixtures, and more.

[Podcast] Controlling Waterhemp with Cover Crops

This week’s podcast, sponsored by Bio Till Cover Crops, features Meghan Anderson, Field Agronomist with Iowa State University Extension. Anderson will discuss why waterhemp has become so difficult to control in recent years, how growers can identify waterhemp, how cover crops can be leveraged against waterhemp, and more.

April 13, 2021 | Posted in Seeding Practices

This week’s podcast, sponsored by Bio Till Cover Crops, features Meghan Anderson, Field Agronomist with Iowa State University Extension. Anderson will discuss why waterhemp has become so difficult to control in recent years, how growers can identify waterhemp, how cover crops can be leveraged against waterhemp, and more.

Ideal Cover Crop Species for Texas

April 12, 2021 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: Southern SARE

Under the right conditions, cover crops are a tool for improvement. After harvesting a crop like cotton or grain sorghum, a cover crop rotation can increase soil organic matter, recycle nutrients, prevent erosion and suppress weeds. Read more in this article from Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE).

[Video] Soil Health & Profitability from Covers

February 15, 2021 | Posted in Soil Health

Laura Van Erd from the University of Guelph discusses insights from her research on an 8 year cover crop rotation, including ways to incentivize cover crop adoption, how using cover crops resulted in higher soil carbon levels, which cover crop species resulted in lower soil carbon levels, and more.

Adding Winter Wheat to a Crop Rotation

October 9, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices

Source: University of Nebraska Extension

As many farmers are getting ready to begin harvest, farmers who grow winter wheat are preparing to plant. There are many reasons why growers have been planting winter wheat in eastern Nebraska. Read more in this article from University of Nebraska Extension.

[Podcast] Enhancing the Value of Covers with Livestock

Jon Stevens, a grower from Rock Creek, Minn., is looking to capture the value of cover crops by grazing cattle on a 30-acre paddock seeded with grasses and cereals.

October 1, 2020 | Posted in Grazing

Jon Stevens, a grower from Rock Creek, Minn., is looking to capture the value of cover crops by grazing cattle on a 30-acre paddock seeded with grasses and cereals. Find out how he intends to try to rotate in corn within 3 years to capture in-field nitrogen.

Iowa Farmer Utilizes Cover Crops to Prevent Soil Erosion

September 14, 2020 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: Waukon Standard

An Iowa farmer is breaking up his rotation, reducing erosion, and providing additional forage benefits for his cattle by planting cover crops. Erik Helgerson, who farms near Lansing, Iowa, tried a unique sequence of cover crops this year on 11 acres near his home. Read more in this article from the Waukon Standard (Waukon, Iowa).

[Podcast] Combining Cover Crops & Specialty Crops

Cover crops aren’t just limited to being used with traditional cash crops like corn and soybeans. This week’s podcast, from Hoosier Ag Today and the Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative, discusses the types of cover crops to use with specialty crops, cover crop establishment and crop rotation.

September 3, 2020 | Posted in Soil Health

Cover crops aren’t just limited to being used with traditional cash crops like corn and soybeans. This week’s podcast, from Hoosier Ag Today and the Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative, discusses the types of cover crops to use with specialty crops, cover crop establishment and crop rotation.

Corn Rotations Mean Better Soil Health

July 22, 2020 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: Wisconsin State Farmer

Soil microbes are living, working barometers of soil health. They are responsible for turning atmospheric nitrogen into forms plants can use, and for releasing nitrogen back into the air. Read more in this article from the Wisconsin State Farmer.

Time to Start Thinking About Cover Crops

July 17, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices

Source: Aberdeen News

Producers are beginning to harvest small grains; these crops provide an excellent window for adding a cover crop into your rotation. Whether you grow a small grain or would like to fit a cover crop into your row crop rotation, there are many considerations to make. Read more in this article from the Aberdeen News (Aberdeen, SD).