Cover crops require careful planning and management to achieve objectives. On-farm research can help optimize cover crop species selection and planting methods. Records of cover crop planting dates, termination methods, and subsequent crop yields are important to evaluate effectiveness over time. Cover crops are not a silver bullet and require more management than other soil amendments.
4. Very common question received
by CC seed vendors in early fall
“What cover
crop should I
plant ???”
5. Well… what do you
want your cover
crops to do for you?
6. Cover crops are not the missing puzzle piece(s)
in your current crop rotation(s)!
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/tcoa/files/breakcrops_orgagr.pdf
7. Overview of book contents
• Problems and opportunities for over 500 crop
sequences
• Characteristics of more than 60 crops and 70 weeds
• Crop diseases hosted by over 80 weed species
• Modes of transmission for 250 diseases of 24 crops
• Thirteen sample four- and five-year vegetable and
Rotations
grain crop rotations Managing Crop Rotation Chart
should evolve
with key tasks & steps
not revolve
•Sample worksheets and calculations
• Step-by-step procedure for determining crop rotation
plans
8. Overview of book contents
• Problems and opportunities for over 500 crop
sequences
• Characteristics of more than 60 crops and 70 weeds
• Crop diseases hosted by over 80 weed species
• Modes of transmission for 250 diseases of 24 crops
• Thirteen sample four- and five-year vegetable and
grain crop rotations Managing Crop Rotation Chart
with key tasks & steps
•Sample worksheets and calculations
• Step-by-step procedure for determining crop rotation
plans
9. Excellent information on integrating cover crops with agronomic crops
http://ohioline.osu.edu/sag-fact/pdf/0009.pdf
10. Start planning today!
• Anticipate planting windows
• Match objectives with species
• Confirm seed availability
• Make sure seeding equipment is ready
• Identify realistic termination methods
• Allocate labor
• Develop contingency plans
11.
12. Crop
planted
on May 15
and harvested
on October 1
13. Opportunities for planting cover crops
• Dormant seeding early or late winter
• Frost seeding
• In the spring
• When planting summer crops
• Prevent plant scenarios
• At last cultivation
• After small grains
• After vegetables
• After seed corn or silage corn
• Aerial or high clearance seeding into standing crops in
late summer/early fall
• After long season crops
17. Klaas and Mary Martens,
organic innovators in
Central NY State, are
reporting excellent results
with frost-seeded
confectionary mustard
ahead of dry beans
18. Mustard variety trial at the Allison farm in early June 2011
Pacific Gold Ida Gold
Slower to mature Faster to mature
More biomass Less biomass
23. JD 730 Air-Disk drill on Jack Erisman’s farm in Pana, IL
Jack uses this rig to drill soybeans on 6" rows (~ 280,000/ac)
while also dropping about 2 bushel of rye and some
micronutrients
30. Have you used any forage brassicas
as cover crops?
Hunter
31. Franzluebbers AJ and JA Stuedemann. 2008.
Soil physical responses to cattle grazing cover
crops under conventional and no tillage in the
Southern Piedmont USA.
Soil and Tillage Research 100, 141-153.
• Cover crops (winter or summer) can provide high-
quality forage and increase economic return and
farm diversity, but some farmers have been
reluctant to take this advantage due to perceived
“compaction” caused by animal trampling.
• Grazing of cover crops can compact soil, but
not to the detrimental levels often perceived.
38. Are you familiar with the fence post principle?
Zone of maximum biological
activity and rapid residue decay
Deeper burial does not optimize decay but sends weed
seeds into deep dormancy and brings deeply dormant
weed seeds to the surface where they germinate slowly
39. Performance over Price
• Buy CC seed on value not price
Cover crop seed price survey from 2010 ($/lb)
Vendor Cereal rye Annual Hairy vetch Medium red
ryegrass clover
WI 0.188 0.52 (0.69) 1.60 (1.98) 1.22 (1.62)
IL1 0.147 (0.179) 0.47 (0.63) 1.42 (1.65)
MN 0.153 (0.171) 0.50 (0.56) 1.70 (1.90) 1.66 (1.84)
NE1 0.157 (0.179) 0.55 (0.65) 2.10 (2.50) 1.65 (1.95)
IL2 (0.213) (0.75) (2.20) (2.60)
IL3 0.188 (0.214) (0.70)
MO 0.197 0.46 1.47 1.21
IL4 (0.20) (0.60) (1.80) (1.75)
IA (0.195) (0.62) (2.00) 2.00
IN (0.239) (0.75) (2.20)
(IL farmer) 0.125 0.48 1.05
40. The cheapest seed available is
frequently VNS – variety not stated
Do you know the difference
between “variety name” and
“brand name”?
How important is uniform seed
size and vigor to you?
41. How much
is good
technical
support
worth to
you?
42. Reduce Risk
• Enroll in programs that pay you to plant CCs
• Use time tested CC methods
• Use more than one method of planting CCs
• Plant mixtures/cocktails
• Grow some crops e.g. small grains,
vegetables, corn silage, shorter season
hybrids/varieties that are harvested early
• Irrigate
43.
44. Traditional cover cropping in the Midwest
The
most tried and true
cover cropping system
in the Midwest region
Frost seeded red
clover
55. With lots of space, moisture, fertility and time to
grow, individual radishes can get huge!
but a good stand of 1” radishes
will probably do more for your soil!
56.
57. control Ohio State
University
Tillage
Radish®
plots
Soil compaction
decreased by >40%
58. Crop root density as affected by previous cover crop
Chen and Weil (2006)
60. Radishes are not the only good bio-driller!!
• much less top growth but deeper roots than cereal rye
• much less winter hardy than cereal rye
• can be difficult to kill with tillage
• can be a serious weed in small grains
61. Learn from cover crop innovators
• Attend field days/host a field day
• Attend conferences
• Participate in internet forums
89. Learn from research
On-farm research
• Leave check strips - replicate if possible
• Work with universities/NRCS
Research station trials
• Make suggestions
• Pay attention to results
90. Practical Farmers of Iowa
Field Crops Project on-farm research questions
1. Can cover crop seed planted using a modified
highboy have better establishment then an
airplane?
2. How can we improve use of spring cover crops?
3. What other species of cover crops work in IA?
What are the yields of improved organic and non-GMO
corn hybrids?
5. What are the yields and aphid counts of aphid-
resistant soybeans?
91. Cereal rye inter-seeded with soybean for
in-row weed control at the Allison Farm
No significant differences in yield between 20&40
lbs of rye in row vs. 60 lbs broadcast vs. control
(all trt means > 40 bu/a)
Cereal rye and several other CC species that require
vernalization will be planted over soybeans rows
using the insecticide boxes on our planter in 2012
105. Soybean health experiment – 6 locations across IL
November 2010
Mustard
Rapeseed incorporated
Canola pre-plant
Cereal rye
Cereal rye no-till
Soybeans no-till drilled into cereal rye
were the top yielder by ~ 10 bushels
106. Corn following cover crop experiment in 2011
Relative
Cover crop system
corn yield
Volunteer oats 79%
Radishes planted on 30” 99%
Radishes drilled on 7.5” 91%