Part 1: Successful Integration of Multispecies Cover Crops & Livestock

John Macauley

Grower

Groveland, N.Y.

New York cattleman John Macauley shares how he's saved fuel and labor costs by parking the plow and implementing cover crops on his 1,200-acre operation in a corn, soybean, wheat and hay crop rotation. Macauley also discusses how cover crops have helped fix nitrogen in his soil and his successes with roller crimping cover crops as a termination method.

Macauley will share how he transitioned away from full tillage around 2005 and the yield differences between conventional tillage, strip-till and no-till. Macauley will explore how adding cover crops to no-tilling enabled him reduce fertilizer rates and maximize herbicide applications.

Part 2: High Residue Cover Crop Management Using the Roller Crimper

Erin Silva

Associate Professor

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Dr. Erin Silva is an associate professor in the Plant Pathology Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research and extension program focuses on sustainable and organic cropping systems, including cover crops and cover crop-based no-till production, variety selection in organic environments and the impact of organic management on soil biological and physical properties.

Silva has launched a comprehensive organic grain training program for farmers in the upper Midwest, “OGRAIN.” She works closely with organic farmers and industry members both in Wisconsin and throughout the upper Midwest and serves on the Wisconsin Organic Advisory Council.