Cover crops - Articles

Cover Crop Acres Increased, Wheat/Hay Acres Decreased

January 25, 2021 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: University of Illinois Extension

Cover crops have environmental benefits, with many resulting from cover crops that over-winter, thereby absorbing nitrates in the early spring and building organic matter in soils over time. Because they over-winter, winter wheat and hay have many attributes ascribed to cover crops. Read more in this article from the University of Illinois.

Cover Crops Can Bridge Gap Between Conventional, Organic Production Practices

By Sarah Hill posted on January 18, 2021

While there is much to be debated about consumers’ thought process when it comes to buying food, organic growers have certainly embraced cover crops. According to an article in political newspaper The Hill, in 2019, 46% of U.S. organic farms planted covers, with 36% using no-till or minimum tillage.

[Video] Test Plot of Cover Crops & Corn

January 12, 2021 | Posted in Seeding Practices

Ohio grower Nathan Brown discusses how he created a test plot where he compared 60-inch rows and 30-inch rows of corn, including seeding population rates, how he added cover crops to the plot, how the cover crops performed amongst the wider rows, and more.

[Podcast] Got Ruts? Got Compaction

This week’s podcast, sponsored by Yetter Equipment, features Aaron Daigh, Associate Professor of Soil Physics & Hydrology, North Dakota State University.

January 12, 2021 | Posted in Soil Health

This week’s podcast, sponsored by Yetter Equipment, features Aaron Daigh, Associate Professor of Soil Physics & Hydrology, North Dakota State University.

[Podcast] Cover Crops Outcompete Weeds

This week’s podcast, sponsored by Yetter Equipment, features Bill Johnson, professor of weed science with Purdue University. Johnson discuss how field management impacts weed problems, how herbicide applications influence cover crops and cash crops, herbicide antagonism and more.

January 8, 2021 | Posted in Seeding Practices

This week’s podcast, sponsored by Yetter Equipment, features Bill Johnson, professor of weed science with Purdue University. Johnson discuss how field management impacts weed problems, how herbicide applications influence cover crops and cash crops, herbicide antagonism and more.

Cover Crops: An Opportunity to Improve Ag Literacy

By Sarah Hill posted on January 6, 2021

“People like seeing livestock grazing on cover crops. It’s aesthetically pleasing.”

Cover Crops in a Processing Vegetable/Grain Crop System

January 6, 2021 | Posted in Economics

Source: Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA)

There are a variety of agricultural research trials in Ontario, but one that stands out from the rest is the long-term cover crop trial set up by Dr. Laura Van Eerd in Ridgetown, Ontario. This trial was established in 2007 and has had consistent cover crop treatments within a processing vegetable-grain crop rotation on the same plot since then.

[Video] Cover Crops & Moisture: One Grower's Experience

December 29, 2020 | Posted in Grazing

Charlie Edinger, a grower from South Dakota, shares his experiences using cover crops to manage moisture in the growing season to soak up excess moisture and prepare his fields for planting cash crops.

Cold Doesn't Always Kill Covers Over the Winter

December 28, 2020 | Posted in Grazing

Source: Hay & Forage Grower

By definition, cover crops are planted to protect the soil and contribute to improved soil health. However, often these annual forages are also grazed or harvested as livestock feed in the spring or early summer in an effort to make them more cost effective. Read more in this story from Hay & Forage Grower.

Cover Crops in Potato Rotations

December 23, 2020 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: Potato News Today

In humid climates, there is a high risk of topsoil loss from erosion on bare soil as well as nitrogen from fertilizers leaking or leaching from the soil into water sources, which can cause groundwater pollution. This is especially true in the fall, after potato harvest, and in the spring, due to melting snow. Read more in this story from Potato News Today.