Due to a late harvest and adverse weather conditions, the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) is extending the 2021 H2Ohio Program deadline for planting overwintering cover crops, including those following small grains, and manure incorporation.

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.

Slugs and voles are becoming major problems on some farms. Mowing a cover crop down to 8 inches or planting species that 50% winter kill helps reduce pest populations. Read more in this article from the Crescent News.

A weed that Central Illinoisans see along roadways, at the edges of fields or at construction sites has been domesticated in Central Illinois into a crop that researchers say has the potential to help combat climate change and provide additional income to farmers. The high-protein seed oil that derives from the pennycress plant, with genetic modifications, has a plethora of environmental positives. Read more in this article from The Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL).

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.

Kansas State University researchers are finding mounting evidence to indicate the importance of pairing cover crops with improved fertilizer management for controlling phosphorus runoff from farm fields. But in something of a surprise discovery, recent research has found that cover crops increase the dissolved phosphorus in runoff, which they say heightens the importance of using best management practices when applying phosphorus fertilizer – especially in areas where soil erosion and sediment loss are not a concern. Read more in this article from Kansas State University Extension.

In the last decade, cover crops have grown in both interest and acres, yet there is still room for more adoption across Iowa and the region. It is obvious that cover crops require more management, and that there will undoubtedly be challenges. Read more in this article from Iowa State University Extension.

This free, 2-day virtual event on Nov. 16-17 will feature 8 sessions sharing ideas, tips and information from crop industry experts and growers who have experience using cover crops to maximize economic and soil-health building benefits.

The editors of Cover Crop Strategies are pleased to introduce the sponsors for the 2021 National Cover Crop Summit (NCCS): Fall Edition, Nov. 16-17. Montag Mfg, Kelly Tillage System, MidWest Bio-Tech, and Underground Agriculture continue their support of the virtual conference.

If Tim Fritz’s experiments are any indication, the next step in cover crop innovation could be tailoring cover mixes to the needs of the cash crop. Fritz, owner and president of cover crop and forage seed dealer King’s AgriSeeds, started down his current line of research a few years ago when he began working with a German company that was developing complex, cutting-edge strategies for cover cropping. Read more in this article from Lancaster Farming.