Cover crops - Articles

[Video] Improving Soil Through Cover Crops

December 30, 2019 | Posted in Soil Health

Grain farmer Jeff Frey has used no-till on his 700-acre farm in Willow Street, Penn., since the 1980s. Despite these efforts, Frey knew he needed to do more to protect his soil from erosion.

Include Cover Crops in Your New Year’s Resolution

By Sarah Hill posted on December 30, 2019

If New Year’s resolutions are your thing, I encourage you to include cover crops as part of that plan for your farming operation.

Residual Herbicides Could Hurt Cover Crop Establishment

December 27, 2019 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: Ohio's Country Journal

Farmers who want to plant cover crops after corn and soybeans also want to control resistant weeds like marestail, waterhemp, and giant ragweed. Often the residual soil herbicides remain active and have a long residual or half-life that could hurt cover crop establishment.

[Video] No-Till Planting Into Rye

December 23, 2019 | Posted in Termination

If you are planning to plant into a rye cover crop, it's best to wait to do so until 10 days after spraying the cover crop, according to Kevin Shelley with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Nutrient & Pest Management Program.

[Podcast] Get Increased Wheat Yields by Adding Cover Crops

Cover crops that winterkill are an excellent choice to plant with wheat, says Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff. In this week’s podcast, find out how growing radishes with wheat can boost wheat yields by an average of 3-5 bushels per acre. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

December 23, 2019 | Posted in Seeding Practices

Cover crops that winterkill are an excellent choice to plant with wheat, says Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff. In this week’s podcast, find out how growing radishes with wheat can boost wheat yields by an average of 3-5 bushels per acre. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

Don’t Miss the Opportunities Offered by Covers

By Sarah Hill posted on December 23, 2019

What other opportunities do we miss in the agriculture industry, and in life, because on the surface, they may not look like they are worth taking? Cover crops are a perfect example.

Cover Crops Make Winter the New Summer

December 23, 2019 | Posted in Seeding Practices

Source: Frederick News Post (Frederick, MD)

For many traditional row crop farmers, winter is the new summer. In the winter, row crop farmers often have cover crops which require no maintenance.

Cover Crops: Insurance for a Wet Spring?

December 23, 2019 | Posted in Grazing

Source: Manitoba Cooperator

Joe Gardiner of Clearwater, Manitoba, has an insurance policy against a wet spring next year. Gardiner is one of a growing number of Manitoba farmers to embrace cover crops, having started the practice several years ago in an effort to increase fall grazing.

Timing Key When Grazing Cover Crops

December 23, 2019 | Posted in Grazing

Source: Soil Health Partnership

Grazing can provide many benefits to your operation such as producing feed for livestock, lengthening the grazing season, and producing a second crop off of your corn and soybean acres; however, implementing grazing requires planning. One thing to consider is the time of year your livestock will be utilizing this additional grazing and what cover crops make the most sense for your operation.

Cover Crops Protect Natural Resources

December 20, 2019 | Posted in Soil Health

As we look back through the last 12 months, it is safe to say 2019 was a trying time for most agricultural producers. From unprecedented flooding during critical planting periods leading to delays in fall harvest to the brutal winter that battered the majority of livestock operations, the spirit of the American farmer and rancher has been tested – of which many have persevered.