On August 14, 2013 the University of Wisconsin is holding an Agronomy Field Day at the Marshfield Ag Research Station. The line-up of speakers looks outstanding and CEU credits are available for Certified Crop Advisers. I will be speaking out at the cover crop plots looking at how we can use cover crops as forages […]

NRCS Cover Crop Termination Guidelines Non-Irrigated Cropland
I appreciate Mike Baise from American Farmland Trust for sending me the document NRCS Cover Crop Termination Guidelines Non-Irrigated Cropland. The document was published June 2013 and should be very helpful to everyone using cover crops.

Four Cover Crop Field Days in NW Indiana and Down-State Illinois
I know that there are lots of cover crop field days that I do not list on this site. However, I usually try to get cover crop field days listed on the Midwest Cover Crops Council website when I hear about them. However, I have four field days that I believe will be attractive […]

Cover Crops in Wisconsin – Full Speed Ahead!
I took a new management position in May of 2012 with Wisconsin based Legacy Seeds, Inc. While my main responsibility lies in working with alfalfa and forages I also was pleased to find out that there were several folks in Wisconsin that were using cover crops! Well, you would figure that I’d get involved more […]

Cover Crops for Fall and Winter Grazing
Cover Crops for Grazing Drought ’12 is causing many cattle producers to consider cover crops for fall and winter grazing. Hay is very expensive and in short supply, and corn silage will be short in many areas. A lack of feed is leaving a number of dairy and beef producers looking to liquidate their herds. […]

Harvesting Cover Crops for Emergency Fall Forage
Need Feed? Harvesting cover crops for emergency fall forage may be able to play a major role in lessening the impact of the 2012 drought disaster for livestock producers. As I traveled from Indiana to eastern Iowa and through Wisconsin I saw dry ponds, cracked soil, nearly dead alfalfa, completely brown pastures, and an exceptionally […]

Cover Crop Root Pits Reveal Plenty
During the first week of April I was in several root pits in northwest Indiana and boy did we find plenty of interesting factoids! I was assisted by Eileen Kladivko from Purdue University on one day and Barry Fisher, Indiana NRCS State Agronomist, on another day. What We Found in the Cover Crop Root Pits […]

Grazing Cover Crops
In early December, 2011 I visited two farms in Kosciusko County Indiana (NE IN) where producers had intentionally planted cover crops after their wheat was harvested for the purpose of grazing cattle and improving soil. One of the producers planted a mixture that was featured in this blog. His Oats/Cereal Rye/Turnip mixture looked beautiful and […]
Cover Crops in the Great Plains – a view from a long time cover crop user- Part 2
In this cover crop post I again quote Paul Conway from Kansas, who is giving his input on cover crops in the Great Plains. In this article, Paul shares his experience with Austrian winter peas, field peas, chickling vetch, and hairy vetch. Dave, Austrian Winter Peas: I have limited and disappointing experience with Austrian Winter […]
Grazing Cover Crops in the Winter
Over the past 9 years I have worked with Ed Ballard from the University of Illinois on grazing cattle over the winter. During the first 4-5 years I was much more concerned about the “above ground” aspect of the cover crop and weight gain by the animals. However, these past 4-5 years have shown me the […]
Categories
- Adding Nitrogen to cover crops (1)
- Cover Crop Benefits (71)
- Breaking Up Compaction (18)
- Cover Crop Roots (12)
- Erosion Control (1)
- Higher Yields (21)
- Lower Inputs (4)
- Manure management (6)
- Soil Improvement (15)
- Water infiltration/percolation (3)
- Weed Suppression (4)
- Breaking Up Compaction (18)
- Cover Crop Challenges (68)
- Aerial Application (9)
- Aerial Application into Soybeans (2)
- Chemical Use and Cover Crops (7)
- Cover Crops in Iowa (3)
- Cover Crops in Wisconsin (6)
- Crop insurance (4)
- Delayed Spring Planting (8)
- Dormant Seed (2)
- Establishing in dry conditions (2)
- High-boy application (1)
- Killing Annual Ryegrass in the Spring (7)
- Misinformation and Myths (5)
- Prevented planting (11)
- Radish Smell (1)
- Risk Management (5)
- Seed Selection: What to Plant After… (11)
- Seeding Rates (2)
- Stand Establishment Following Cover Crops (5)
- Timing of Planting (3)
- Wild Radishes (1)
- Winterhardiness (3)
- Cover Crop Champions (1)
- Cover Crop Wearables (1)
- Cover Crops – Return on Investment (2)
- Cover Crops & No-Till (1)
- Cover Crops effect on spring Soil temperatures (4)
- Cover Crops in Minnesota (4)
- Cover Crops in the Northland (8)
- Education (70)
- Aerial Application Certification (2)
- Cover Crop Meetings (9)
- Cover Crop Plots (12)
- Cover Crop Research (12)
- Decision Making Tool (2)
- Field Days (11)
- Improved Varieties (6)
- Midwest Cover Crops Council (3)
- Midwest Cover Crops Field Guide (1)
- Online Training Seminars (4)
- Radish Plot (7)
- Surveys (3)
- Webinars (3)
- YouTube Videos (13)
- Grazing Cover Crops (10)
- Cover Crops for Forage (3)
- Fall Grazing (3)
- Lower Yields possible (1)
- Terminating Cover Crops (1)
- Types of Cover Crops (60)
- Annual Ryegrass (10)
- Austrian Winter Peas (9)
- Cowpeas (2)
- Crimson Clover (10)
- Hairy Vetch (2)
- Kura Clover (1)
- Mustard (1)
- Oats (4)
- Radishes (24)
- Red Clover (2)
- Sorghum Sudangrass (1)
- Sudangrass (1)
- Turnips (4)
- Winter Barley (1)
- Winter Cereal Rye (12)
Newsletter
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Cover Crop Turnips – A Good Choice Over Radishes?
April 14, 2012
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Planting cover crop radishes with wheat? How do you plant them?
October 5, 2011
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Austrian Winter Peas
June 12, 2010
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Cover Crops for Fall and Winter Grazing
July 26, 2012
- Winter Cereal Rye July 15, 2010
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New articles out on Cover Crops in the Upper Midwest
March 27, 2014
- Broadcast Recording Available from National Cover Crops Conference February 28, 2014
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Cover Crops- It is Amazing how much interest there is these days!
February 23, 2014
- Cover Crop Meetings Winter 2014 December 18, 2013
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More Fall Cover Crop Field Days Coming
October 17, 2013
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Dave: Scott, Where are you from? And, have you taken a ...
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Dave: Steve, I do not have answers to your questions......
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Dave: JD, Interseeding at V5/V6 is proving to be "risk...
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Dave: Edith, Mississippi State University did some work ...
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Dave: Mike, Good question! Michigan State University r...


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