Summer interseeding may be a good cover crop strategy for farmers with shorter growing seasons. So says the first-year results from a USDA-sponsored soil health demonstration project in northern Iowa. Read more in this article from the Aberdeen News (Aberdeen, S.D.).

Cover crop adoption across the U.S. is on the rise, but Minnesota adoption has hovered around 2%. While Midwestern farmers understand the importance of soil health, adopting sustainable technologies that offer limited near-term economic returns is challenging. Read more in this article from University of Minnesota Extension.

Interseeding cover crops into soybean is not a common practice in North Dakota due to limited soil water, a short growing season and the need for adapted winter hardy species to produce a good established stand of a cover crop. A study from North Dakota State University Extension evaluated the impact of interseeded winter camelina and winter rye using two soybean varieties with different relative maturities and row spacing.

On a hot, dry, and extremely windy day in early June, Neal Hentzen surveys the dryland field on the edge of Seward where his corn is ankle high. The leaves on the plants whip in the wind like green streamers running in long, straight rows from the road to a faraway fencepost. Read more in this article from the York News Times (York, NE).

Whether by airplane, spreader or toolbar, interseeding cover crops into cash crops is a trend that appears to be growing in popularity as a way for growers to accommodate weather challenges, increase crop diversity and boost soil health more efficiently. The Cover Crop Benchmark Study released this year by Cover Crop Strategies details some of the first in-depth data available in the ag industry on interseeding practices for U.S. farmers, including equipment utilized and planting timings that work for growers.

David Kruger and Todd Boesen don’t know each other. But these two South Dakota farmers share a desire to test out practices on their farms. Read more in this article from the Aberdeen News (Aberdeen, SD).

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.

Cover crops were interseeded into V4 corn in mid-June to evaluate what species will survive in a shaded crop on the Seim farm in Merrick County, Nebraska.