Broadcast seeds do not have good seed-soil contact, which reduces the seed’s ability to take up water necessary for germination. Stand counts of broadcast cover crops are often lower than those of drilled cover crops. Could increasing the seeding rate overcome low stand counts and improve cover crop productivity?

While planting cover crops after harvest with a drill or planter may be the most convenient, there are several other planting methods that can increase cover crop success as measured by biomass production.

This multiyear field study, featured in the journal Weed Science, compared 19 monoculture cover crops from four taxonomic groups (brassica, forb, grass, and legume), with 19 mixtures containing multiple plants that represented from 1 to 3 cover crop species.

By grazing cover crops, farmers are adding to the established benefit of improved soil quality and other factors, says Denise Schwab, Iowa State University Extension beef specialist based in eastern Iowa. Prior to grazing in the fall, Schwab says to use the “pluck test” to check on root vigor.