In this podcast from Hoosier Ag Today, Purdue Extension Forage Specialist Dr. Keith Johnson and Forage Agronomist Greg Downing with Cisco Seed discuss harvesting cover crops as forage.

As ranchers continue with the struggle to find more grazing land to expand their livestock operations, more are looking into growing cover crops for grazing or renting cover crop land from neighboring farmers. Greg Rasmussen started planting cover crops on a piece of farm ground north of Boelus, Neb., several years ago, in an effort to stop soil erosion and improve soil health. Read more in this article from The Fence Post.

University of Georgia researchers are working on natural solutions to weed problems in row crops as government regulations of chemical herbicides grow stricter. Earlier in June, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals pulled registrations for the use of all dicamba products for row-crop production. Read more in this article from Southeast AgNet.

The COVID-19 pandemic, arguably the most defining event of 2020, has exposed the gaps in our nation’s food supply chain. Remember when news reports and social media were showing mountains of fresh produce that were stuck on farms, unable to be transported to grocery stores or processing facilities due to the pandemic?

Cover crops now are grown on 4% of Iowa acres. How can farmers balance the environmental factors of cover crops with the economics? Find out what the benefits of cover crops are to your farm business in this video from Iowa Learning Farms.

Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) officials each year report an increased adoption of conservation practices, such as cover crops. However, there is still room for growth. Today we focus on growth, which is dependent on one’s comfort level. Read more in this article from KIWA Radio (Sheldon, IA).

Planting cover crops is an option to consider in managing your prevented plant acres, says Ron Haugen, North Dakota State University Extension farm management specialist. Rules for planting cover crops on prevented plant acres must be followed. Read more in this article from North Dakota State University.

Last fall, two farms in California’s Sacramento Valley planted a wildflower cover crop mix as part of a commitment to restore habitat within 325 acres of pecan orchards. The farms, Pacific Gold Agriculture and Bypass Farms, are participating in a project called “Orchards Alive” in hopes that wildflowers will attract pollinators and naturally reduce pest pressure. Read more in this article from the Environmental Defense Fund.

On a hot, dry, and extremely windy day in early June, Neal Hentzen surveys the dryland field on the edge of Seward where his corn is ankle high. The leaves on the plants whip in the wind like green streamers running in long, straight rows from the road to a faraway fencepost. Read more in this article from the York News Times (York, NE).

Florida vegetable farmers who grow cover crops as a green manure between their cash crops anecdotally tout the health benefits, but a two-year study by University of Florida has provided the research to back it up. In a Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SSARE) On-Farm Research Grant, University of Florida soil health expert Jehangir (Jango) Bhadha shadowed the cover crop practices of eight farmers across the state to measure the benefits of using cover crops (mainly cow pea and sunn hemp) as a soil amendment and nutrient source for subsequent cash crops.