Penn State researchers, in a recent study, were surprised to learn that they could take the exact same number of seeds from the same plants, put them in agricultural fields across the Mid-Atlantic region and get profoundly different stands of cover crops a few months later. The study came to be known as “‘farm-tuning’ cover crop mixtures,” noted researcher Jason Kaye, professor of soil biogeochemistry, who added that the findings are significant because they show the need to customize cover crop mixes to achieve desired ecosystem services, depending on soil and climatic conditions.

Instead of cultivating corn, this year, Andy Lacey was busy the first day of June interseeding his 60-inch rows with a cover crop mix. “The cover crop is essential to protecting the soil from getting too hot and preventing the weeds from germinating,” he said. Read more in this article from the Lincoln Journal Star.