No-till and cover crops - Articles

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.

[Video] Cover Crops Speed Up No-Till Transition

December 22, 2020 | Posted in Seeding Practices

Hear from long-time South Dakota no-tillers as they discuss how cover crops impact the transition to using no-till, which cover crop species help better utilize soil moisture, why cover crops are growing in popularity, and more.

[Podcast] No-Till, Cover Crops Boost Soil Health

In this podcast from Stroud Water Research Center, host Scott LaMar discusses soil health with Lisa Blazure, Stroud Water Research Center soil health coordinator; Jim Hershey, president of the Pennsylvania No-Till Alliance and Lancaster County, PA, farmer; and Steve Groff, cover crop expert and farmer, also in Lancaster County, PA.

August 17, 2020 | Posted in Soil Health

In this podcast from Stroud Water Research Center, host Scott LaMar discusses soil health with Lisa Blazure, Stroud Water Research Center soil health coordinator; Jim Hershey, president of the Pennsylvania No-Till Alliance and Lancaster County, PA, farmer; and Steve Groff, cover crop expert and farmer, also in Lancaster County, PA.

Resiliency Despite Extreme Weather

June 26, 2020 | Posted in Economics

Source: Aberdeen News

The record wet year in 2019 left many acres in South Dakota unsuitable for planting, but on Doug Sieck's cropland near Selby, South Dakota, he was able to plant every acre he wanted to. He attributes that to decades of no till management and the years of cover cropping that have helped build healthy soil. Read more in this article from the Aberdeen News.

Crop Residue, Cover Crops Impact Soil Health Parameters

June 10, 2020 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: South Dakota State University Extension

Interest in no-till and cover crops has been on the rise among South Dakota (S.D.) crop producers. In 2019, half of S.D. crop ground was under no-till management and about 900,000 acres were planted to cover crops (U S.D.S-NRCS). Read more in this article from South Dakota State University Extension.

Cover Crops & Tillage: Find What Works for Your Operation

By Sarah Hill posted on May 12, 2020

When I was a kid, I loved reading choose-your-own-adventure books. You never knew where you were going to end up or how things would turn out. Farming is a lot like a choose-your-own-adventure story.

Switching to No-Till, Cover Crops Increases ROI

February 12, 2020 | Posted in Economics

Source: AgriNews

Switching from a traditional tillage system to a no-till and cover crop program can result in major benefits, including increased return on investment. Evaluate the optimal crop plan for your farming system and look at the return on investment for the overall crop rotation of three or four crops. Find out more in this article from AgriNews.

Greatest Soil Health Benefits Come From No-Till, Cover Crop Combo

October 28, 2019 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: Ohio's Country Journal

For the last several years, many farmers have been adopting practices to improve the “soil health” of their fields. Often this includes no-till or reduced tillage, and the introduction of cover crops. While the basic soil health concept is relatively uniform, the way the practices are implemented is often very different from operation to operation. Read more in this article from Ohio's Country Journal.

How Seeding Cover Crops Can Slash Your Fertilizer Bills

No-till pioneer David Brandt shares how he uses varied mixes of covers to build and recycle soil nutrients and notch major reductions in input costs.

July 23, 2015 | Posted in Soil Health, Economics

David Brandt may like the nice, green color his fields take on after one of his cover crop mixes emerges. But he also likes to see another kind of green — the color of money.