Soil health - Articles

Crop Insurance Isn’t Holding Growers Back From Using Covers

By Sarah Hill posted on December 2, 2021

Crop insurance has been perceived as a barrier to growers adopting the use of cover crops to improve their soil health and minimize risk, but that is not the case, according to a peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Environmental Management.

New Edition of Cover Crop Field Guide Released

November 19, 2021 | Posted in Economics

Source: News release

The Midwest Cover Crops Council (MCCC), composed of representatives from 12 Midwest states and the province of Ontario, agricultural stakeholders and universities, including Purdue, is releasing a new edition of the Cover Crops Field Guide. The popular pocket-size in-field reference helps growers effectively select, grow and use cover crops.

[Podcast] Cover Crops Are About Stewardship

This week’s podcast, sponsored by NewLeaf Symbiotics, features Dean Jackson, a grower and dairyman from Columbia Crossroads, Penn. Jackson will be a panelist during the upcoming 2021 National Cover Crop Summit: Fall Edition. He will discuss how his operation got started using cover crops, their success with drilling cover crops, his experiences planting green, and more.

November 12, 2021 | Posted in Seeding Practices

This week’s podcast, sponsored by NewLeaf Symbiotics, features Dean Jackson, a grower and dairyman from Columbia Crossroads, Penn. Jackson will be a panelist during the upcoming 2021 National Cover Crop Summit: Fall Edition. He will discuss how his operation got started using cover crops, their success with drilling cover crops, his experiences planting green, and more.

Canadian Cover Crop Survey Finds On-Farm Innovations

November 8, 2021 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: University of Manitoba

Researchers at the University of Manitoba (UM) have shared the results from the 2020 Prairie Cover Crop Survey which capture a snapshot of the use and grower observations of this new practice. The report suggests that cover crops are becoming established in the Prairies and can be grown in a wide range of locations and environments across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

[Podcast] Canadian Grower Has Basically Eliminated Erosion with Covers

This week’s podcast, sponsored by NewLeaf Symbiotics, features Jim Denys, a grower from Parkhill, Ont. Denys will be a panelist during the upcoming 2021 National Cover Crop Summit: Fall Edition. He will discuss his operation’s goals for using cover crops, how their soil has come to be swarming with earthworms, the challenges they’ve had planting green, and more.

November 5, 2021 | Posted in Seeding Practices

This week’s podcast, sponsored by NewLeaf Symbiotics, features Jim Denys, a grower from Parkhill, Ont. Denys will be a panelist during the upcoming 2021 National Cover Crop Summit: Fall Edition. He will discuss his operation’s goals for using cover crops, how their soil has come to be swarming with earthworms, the challenges they’ve had planting green, and more.

2021 Fall National Cover Crop Summit

Lessons in Continuous Cover Cropping

A long-time no-tiller presents valuable lessons learned in the field at the 2021 Fall National Cover Crop Summit.

November 1, 2021 | Posted in Economics

Grower Mike Brocksmith, Vincennes, Ind., has used conservation tillage for nearly 45 years. During the 2021 Fall National Cover Crop Summit, he will discuss the changes his farm has seen since implementing cover crops in 2009, including changes to the soil and nutrient levels.

2021 Fall National Cover Crop Summit

Growers Share Their Experiences with Cover Crops & Soil Health

Three growers share the soil health changes that they can attribute to their use of cover crops at the 2021 Fall National Cover Crop Summit.

October 29, 2021 | Posted in Soil Health

Cover crops can make major changes to the soil, including improving soil biology, increasing water infiltration, enhancing soil aggregation, and more. A special grower panel will be held during the 2021 Fall National Cover Crop Summit to discuss what covers can do when it comes to soil health.

How Cover Crops Affect Soil Water, Nitrogen, Oxygen Dynamics

October 27, 2021 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: University of Illinois Extension

Cover crops are widely seen as one of the most promising conservation practices, improving soil health while also removing carbon from the atmosphere. But while the number of Midwestern farmers planting cover crops has increased markedly in recent years, 2017 USDA Census data show only about 5% have adopted the conservation practice. Read more in this article from the University of Illinois.

Winter Rye Between Corn and Soybean are Good Cover Crop Strategy

October 13, 2021 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: South Dakota State University Extension

With much interest in soil health and crop diversity, interest in cover crops has increased greatly in recent times. Although the 2021 growing season in South Dakota has been impacted by widespread drought and record-high temperatures, especially in June and July, the recent rain events have brought the cover crop thoughts back into producers’ minds. Read more in this article from South Dakota State University Extension.

Purdue Ag Economy Barometer Finds That Most Growers Still New to Using Cover Crops

Out of 400 large-acreage growers surveyed, 41% are currently seeding covers on their operations.

By Sarah Hill posted on October 7, 2021 | Posted in Seeding Practices

The practice of using cover crops still has plenty of room for growth, according to the results of the August Purdue Ag Economy Barometer. Forty-one percent of growers with production of more than $500,000 annually said they are currently using cover crops, while 65% of growers responded that they had either used cover crops in the past or were currently using covers.