Plant Cover Crops

Learning about the benefits of planting cover crops.

Dave Robison

New articles out on Cover Crops in the Upper Midwest

During the week of March 18-21 I spoke at the Legacy Seeds Cover Crop Meetings to over 150 people in three Wisconsin towns

Appin Turnips make an outstanding cover crop and forage crop too!
Appin Turnips make an outstanding cover crop and forage crop too.

about cover crops.  During each meeting I showed why folks should consider using cover crops (erosion control, nutrient management, compaction reduction, aeration/infiltration, etc…).  I also implored producers to be creative about applying cover crops (aerial application, Hi-boy type spreaders, maybe interseeding into short corn, etc…).  Lastly I showed how many farmers are reporting increased profitability by using  cover crops.

Many farmers attending the meetings had at least some experience with cover crops and those that talked to me personally had very good experiences.  It was fun to talk to farmers that are excited about both soil health and profitability.

At the meeting in Sparta, Agri-View Newspaper Crops Editor, Jane Fyksen was present and taking notes for a story she was writing for the publication.  Jane did a great job in her reporting of what I said.  I want to share those articles with you.  The first article is entitled “Finding a cover crop mix to fit every need” and the second one is entitled “Aerial and overseeding of cover crops: Making it work“.

I have conducted over 40 cover crop talks this year from Omaha to Ontario and from Syracuse, NY to Chippewa Falls, WI.  I am amazed how far this cover cropping idea has come.  I am also very excited to see what will happen in another 8-10 years.

I cannot wait for warmer temperatures so we can see what cover crops survived this past record setting-cold winter.
I cannot wait for warmer temperatures so we can see what cover crops survived this past record setting-cold winter.

 

 

 

 

Broadcast Recording Available from National Cover Crops Conference

Folks,
I was privileged to attend and also speak at this conference.  Please take some time to look in on the many awesome presentations that were presented in Omaha.  Dave
Broadcast Recording Available from National Cover Crops Conference

 

To meet some of today’s biggest challenges in agriculture, including rising food demand, a shrinking land base and climate change, farmers should be encouraged to adopt a holistic approach to enriching their most valuable resource – the soil – according to a panel of experts who helped open last week’s National Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health.

 

“Cover crops to me are just the next natural step in trying to have a broader system, and I think the single biggest issue we have as farmers in this country is we don’t farm with a system in mind,” said panelist Howard G. Buffett, a philanthropist and Illinois farmer.

 

To learn more, watch a recording of opening sessions from the National Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health, held Feb. 17 – 19 in Omaha, Neb. Joining the 300 farmers, scientists, and industry and government representatives who met in Omaha, approximately 6,000 others participated by gathering at more than 200 local soil health forums nationwide, where this recording was broadcasted live.

 

Also available online are presentations from breakout sessions and 10 short videos of innovative farmers describing their use of cover crops.

 

Conference organizers are developing a formal list of recommended actions to increase cover crop adoption based on discussions at the conference and local forums. To see it when it becomes available, keep an eye on www.sare.org/covercropsconference or join SARE’s mailing list.

 

The conference recording features a discussion of how cover crops can improve soil health and the major barriers to their increased adoption, and was led by Buffett and fellow panelists Jason Weller, chief of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Ray Gaesser, Iowa farmer and American Soybean Association president. Following them is a panel of farmers who are pioneers in the use of cover crops, no-till and other soil management practices.

 

Conference speakers addressed a wide range of ongoing challenges to cover crop adoption, including the need for more specialized seeding equipment, more advocacy by farmer leaders, more research on their economic benefits, and changes to insurance and conservation programs that better encourage their use.

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Cover Crops- It is Amazing how much interest there is these days!

It is amazing how much interest there is in cover cropping these days!

Sarah Carlson from Practical Farmers of Iowa and I were discussing this fact in Omaha, NE earlier this week.  To think that there would be a conference like we attended in Omaha was almost a “dream” when we were attending some of the first Midwest Cover Crop Council Meetings less than 10 years ago.  Many thanks to Eileen Kladivko, Dale Mutch, Dean Baas, Tom Kaspar, Anne Verhallen, Alan Sundermeier, and others who set the pace and path and vision for sharing and researching the benefits of cover cropping.

Dave Robison
I had the privilege of speaking to over 1,000 farmers at the National No-Till Conference in Springfield, IL in January 2014. Being a long-time no-tiller; this was a highlight of my career.

So, where am I these days?  (kind of like “Where’s Waldo?)  Over the past seven weeks I have  spoken in many states (NY, OH, WI, NE, MI, etc…) and at Ridgetown, Ontario.  I have spoken to well over 2,000 producers these past 50 days.  I keep telling my wife I’ll check in as often as possible and I try to keep the kids aware of where I am and where I am going (I use this as great geography lessons!).  The interest in cover cropping is astounding.  I am excited to see so many producers that are using cover crops are excited about what they are doing…I am 100% confident this is NOT a fad.

I have a few more cover crop meetings to add that you might find very interesting.

On March 5 at 10AM I am speaking at the Yahara Pride Farms 2014 Watershed-Wide Conference: Building on our Progress at  Lake Windsor Golf Club  4628 Golf Road, Windsor, WI 53598  For more information contact: rachel@yaharapridefarms.org; 608-255-6329 ;  www.yaharapridefarms.org.

Starting on March 6 the American Society of Agronomy is conducting a number of Cover Crop webinars.  The speakers on the presentations are among the “who’s-who” in cover cropping research and practice.  Please register and watch these free webinars!

On March 13 I will be speaking at the Bay County  Soil Conservation District’s Soil Health and Cover Crop Meeting in Pinconning, MI.  This meeting involves some excellent speakers on soil health and also on local cover crop research.

Also in Wisconsin I am speaking at three Legacy Seeds Cover Crop Seminars.  Please contact the folks at Legacy Seeds at karen@legacyseeds.com to preregister.  Registrations starts at 9:30 and the meetings start at 10 AM.  Early order “discounts” will be available.  Lunch will be served at each location.

March 18 at  Jakes Northwoods 1132 Angelo Rd. Sparta, WI  608-269-5010

March 19 at the Eagles Club 2588 hwy. 53 Chippewa Falls, WI 54729 715-723-0172

March 20 at  Cobblestone Creek Dining and Banquet Center 740 West Ryan St. Brillion, WI 54110 920-756-3214

On April 1 Winnebago Soil & Water Conservation District and AgTech are sponsoring a Cover Crop Workshop in Durand, IL.  I am honored to speak at this event.  There is an optional field tour after lunch.  Preregister by 3-25-14.

On May 9 There is a Soil Health Field Day – Sponsored by Catawba SWCD in Newton, North Carolina.  I will not be attending this meeting but it sure sounds like a great day!   Thanks to Russell Hedrick for passing this along.

Also, sometime in April – Robison Farms (my brother Don and I along with mom and dad) hope to host a field day at our Greenwood, IN farm where we have 5 acres of replicated cover crop research.  More details will follow soon on this.

These are exciting times in Agriculture.  Remember to be thankful for those who have come before us and for those who share their knowledge and vision with us.  More importantly share your vision and knowledge with others.  Most importantly, be thankful to the God of Creation who gives us the responsibility to care for His creation.

 

Dave

 

 

Cover Crop Meetings Winter 2014

It’s been a while since I have posted on here as I have been quite busy speaking about cover crops at a number of venues.  Over the Winter of 2014 I will be speaking at a number of conferences.  If you are in the area of any of these meetings please stop by and introduce yourself to me; I’d love to hear your cover crop stories.

Here is a partial list of many of the meetings I will be speaking at:

January 7-8, 2014  – Southwest Ag Conference – Ridgetown, Ontario  http://www.southwestagconference.ca/

January 9-10, 2014 – Mid-Ohio Growers Meeting  Buckeye Event Center, Dalton, Ohio http://midohiogrowers.com/schedule

January 16-17, 2014  – National No-Till Conference –Springfield, IL http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/

January 18, 2014  – Corn Belt Cow-Calf Conference Ottumwa, Iowa “Using Cover Crops to Boost Profitability in Your Operation” and “Baleage—Making & Utilizing Higher Quality Hay”   http://www.extension.iastate.edu/article/2014-cornbelt-cow-calf-conference-focuses-profitable-expansion

January 22, 2014  – Empire State Producers EXPO, Syracuse, New York “Can cover crops benefit vegetable fields? YES!” –  http://cvp.cce.cornell.edu/event.php?id=53

January 28, 2014 – Conservation Cropping Seminar , Mendota, IL 2014Mendota Agenda Contact Marty McManus -visit www.ccswcd.com to register ($20)

February 6, 2014 – Wisconsin Corn/Soy Expo, Kalahari Conference Center, Wisconsin Dells https://www.cornsoyexpo.org/

February 18-19, 2014  – National Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health – Harvesting the Potential ,Omaha, NE https://sites.google.com/a/swcs.org/2014-omaha-cover-crops-conference/keynote-and-breakout-descriptions

More Fall Cover Crop Field Days Coming

This fall there are more cover crop field days to attend in Iowa and Wisconsin.

 

For those in Iowa see http://practicalfarmers.org/blog/2013/fall-2013-cover-crop-field-days-scheduled

In Wisconsin there are two field days:

There will be opportunities to look in soil pits in Northern climates to see just what is going on beneath the surface of the soil.
There will be opportunities to look in soil pits in Northern climates to see just what is going on beneath the surface of the soil.

October 21, 2013 – 10:30am – Cover Crop Plot Tour
Hosted by Legacy Seeds’ Kris Tessar and Ag Ventures Shawano
Located at the farm of Paul McClone on Cty BE in Bonduel, WI
Dave Robison will be speaking – Lunch will follow the tour
RSVP to Ag Ventures at 715-524-8812
October 22, 2013 – 10:30am – Cover Crop Plot Tour
Hosted by Legacy Seeds’ Kris Tessar and ADM
Located at the farm of Ken Huber at 3848 Cty P in Oxford, WI
Dave Robison will be speaking – Lunch will follow the tour
RSVP to ADM (Perry or Sue) at 800-367-4057

I hope to see you there!  Dave

 

Badger Plot Cover Crop Research Site – Producer Day Schedule Announced

Join me with Wisconsin NRCS at the Badger Plot Cover Crop Research Site on October 2, 2013 @ Jeff and Jerry Kreuziger Farms near Clyman, WI.  Sessions will run from 9:30-Noon or 1:00-3:30 CST.  This looks to be a great day to learn more about cover crops and soil health in southern Wisconsin/northern Illinois regions.

 

For more information see Badger Plot Research-Producer Day.

Damon Reabe from Reabe Spraying Services - Waupun, WI plays a big role in applying cover crops in SE WI. Damon provided this photo.
Damon Reabe from Reabe Spraying Services – Waupun, WI plays a big role in applying cover crops in SE WI. Damon provided this photo.

 

Advancing Cover Crop Adoptions Research Agenda

Advancing Cover Crop Adoptions Research Agenda

IMG_3507
Will corn planted after cover crops consistently out-yield corn planted without cover crops? Research has shown some nice advantage in areas. More research should give farmers more confidence in cover cropping.

Sarah Carlson, Midwest Cover Crop Research Coordinator with  Practical Farmers of Iowa and Ryan Stockwell, Agriculture Program
Manager with the National Wildlife Federation have written an agenda that will help researching cover crops be more scientific over the next six to eight years.   The research agenda is published in the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development
ISSN: 2152-0801 online www.agdevjournal.com

Here is the abstract of this aggressive agenda:

Copyright © 2013 by New Leaf Associates, Inc.
Abstract
Given certain ecologic and agronomic characteristics of conventional corn and soybean monocultures, cropping systems reliant solely on these two commodities inevitably lose soil and nutrients.  Leaky cropping systems not only hamper society with negative externalities, but also erode the very natural resources needed to produce food and sustain civilization. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), state agriculture department staff, farmer organizations, agribusiness leaders, and conservation and environmental organizations now see cover crops as a solution to reduce the negative externalities of conventional row-crop agriculture. Farmers are asking for increased agronomic and economic research to help them understand the benefits of and implement the use of cover crops. Researchers for the most part are not keeping up with farmers’ innovations on cover crops nor on providing the information sought by farmers. This article outlines the questions farmers are asking about cover crops and provides suggestions to agronomists, soil scientists, and researchers on research topics to best answer those questions. Additionally, social scientists must initiate a new round of research to understand the underlying concerns farmers have with cover crops and help to define the information (both content and source) that best informs and influences farmers. This article outlines specific issues and questions social scientists can research to contribute to the advancement of more sustainable farming practices and, in particular, cover crops.

Keywords
adoption, climate change, cover crops, diversity, externalities, innovation, natural resources, nutrient loss, resilience

You can find the complete paper here.

 

Fall Cover Crop Management

While in southern Minnesota in early September 2013 I was asked when a farmer should plow his cover crop field this fall because he needs the fields to be “black” this winter in preparation for next spring.  I shuddered.  There I was in a beautiful field of cover crops that are jump-starting some biology on a “biologically dead” field and the farmer wants to kill his biology driving mechanism.  UG!  The main reason he wanted to till the field was to have warmer soils in the spring where he had black soil.  I shared that our research sowed much different results.  His thought process sound right but has proven to be a myth, not a fact.

A beautiful stand of Oats, Berseem Clover, and Pasja Hybrid Brassica on prevent plant acres in SO. MN
A beautiful stand of Oats, Berseem Clover, and Pasja Hybrid Brassica on prevent plant acres in SO. MN

I told the farmer to leave the cover crops in all winter and use conservation tillage next spring.  (He’s not a no-tiller.)  We dug some shallow root pits for a field day and we found many problems that I believe can be somewhat rectified if the cover crops are left in all winter.

We found many soil health problems in this prevent plant field

  • Severe compaction– many areas had compaction starting at 2-3″ deep.  Part of that was from spring tillage of wet soils…but the compaction was about 8″ thick as the soil was coming up in blocks the size of cinder blocks!
  • Lack of soil biology – I know this because we found a significant amount of corn fodder 2 foot deep that was not even breaking down.  It would have been buried with the deep ripper 18 months ago.  I could not believe my eyes!
  • Lack of aeration in the soil – the soil was literally rock hard.  We did find a few earthworm channels but it was so dry that worms were small and deep.
  • Low organic matter – I’m not sure how low it was but there was very little soil structure.  I talked with a regional NRCS employee and the local SWCD specialist and both men lamented that many of the soils in that region were “about as bad as this one”.
We found corn fodder two feet deep that had not yet decompose after over 18 months.
We found corn fodder two feet deep that had not yet decompose after over 18 months.

I need to be fair.  The farmer currently renting this field has only farmed it a few years and he is making major strides to improve this farm.  But he has lots to accomplish before he has a healthy field.  Having cover crops are a great first step and he knows it.

Other solutions (instead of cover crops) being proposed to fix the “tight” soils (“unhealthy” soils) in the region

  • Tile – LOTS and LOTS of tile has been installed in prevent plant acres this year.  Farmers know they need aeration and percolation in their “tight” soils.  The regional specialist from NRCS lamented that many farmers don’t believe that cover crops are a solution to make their soils better long term.  Tile is not bad; but tile and cover crops are a much better solution.
  • Deep ripping – this will get air into the soil and break up compaction, but will it build soil health?  No, it will not  (note the corn fodder found 2 foot deep in a root pit).  Let cover crops naturally deep rip the soil.
  • Tillage- and lots of it – many fields in the area had been tilled (disked, field cultivated, etc…) four times already to control weeds…Unfortunately it also reduces organic matter and soil structure and soil health.

So what should happen with the cover crops heading into winter?

  • Leave the cover crop growing into the winter – This will give the best opportunity to help with aeration and percolation.  This also helps build soil structure and reduce compaction.  (See deep ripping, and tiling above…just let the cover crops do this naturally!)
  • Sarah Carlson from Practical Farmers of Iowa recently wrote an article about this topic and you can find it here Prevent Plant, Cover Crops, Now What 2013.
  • Let the cover crops keep putting down deep roots – we found roots of crimson clover, radishes, cereal rye, annual ryegrass, oats, and Pasja all around 24″ deep.  Let them keep growing deeper to open up the soil to get air and moisture deeply into the soil profile.
This 5 week old PileDriver Radish shows the compaction zone starts at around 2-3" seep. Roots on this radish went over 24" deep despite very dry conditions.
This 5 week old PileDriver Radish shows the compaction zone starts at around 2-3″ seep. Roots on this radish went over 24″ deep despite very dry conditions.
This field had very poor soil structure. The regional NRCS specialist told me that many fields in the area had similar issues
This field had very poor soil structure. The regional NRCS specialist told me that many fields in the area had similar issues

Cover Crop Field Day Set in Blooming Prairie, MN

PileDriver at Hagan Farms 2 33 days
This Radish was planted in late July 2013 and after 33 days has tremendous growth. This mix included oats and crimson clover and radishes.

Cover Crops will be the main topic of discussion on September 4, 2013 at a cover crop field day and meeting in Blooming Prairie, MN. I have the privilege of speaking at this event as we look at cover crops on prevented plant acres.  We will also look at what cover crops work best in the upper Midwest.  We will be on Brad Hagan’s family farm and possibly look at Dale Ramsey’s farm too.  Please note that we will be looking in root pits (where the action really is)!

I received this note from Legacy Seeds representative Andrew Heath about the field day/meeting:

“We  plan on structuring the event much like an open house with designated times where you will be able to address the crowd. We will start the event at 10 am and have you speak from 11 to 11:45 and again at 1 to 1:45. There will also be transportation to the cover crop plot and some of the field that you, TJ, Brad and I visited earlier with root pits dug. This will happen from 12 to 1 and 2 to 3.”

I have seen the plots and have added photos here on this post to entice you to come if you are in the region.

As a side note, Hagan farms will be no-tilling corn into these fields in 2014.  We’ll follow-up on these fields next spring and see how these fields compare to others that did not have a cover on them.

This prevent plant field had plenty of nitrogen from manure to capture. Hagan farms used a hybrid brassica and spring barley to secure the nitrogen and Berseem clover to produce more N and provide better soil health.
This prevent plant field had plenty of nitrogen from manure to capture. Hagan farms used a hybrid brassica and spring barley to secure the nitrogen and Berseem clover to produce more N and provide better soil health.

Cover Crops to the Rescue!

A Huge Problem

Brad, TJ, and Andrew inspecting on of Brads many cover crop fields that were planted in July 2013.on prevented planting acres.
Brad, TJ, and Andrew inspecting one of Brads many cover crop fields that were planted in July 2013 on prevented planting acres.

Recently I was in Minnesota with Brad Hagen, T.J. Kartes, and Andrew Heath looking at Brad’s 1,000+ acres or cover crops.  Brad had not intended on planting any of theses acres to cover crops in July, 2013…his intentions were to plant them in August or early September.  But spring 2013 rains and floods kept Brad from planting corn or soybeans on most of his 1,700 acres near Ellendale, MN (about an hour SW of Rochester, MN ).  Brad attended a cover crop meeting TJ set up for me to speak at on behalf of Legacy Seeds last March and as I spoke I could see Brad’s mind working.  When the spring rains came so did phone calls from Brad to TJ and from TJ to Andrew or me (or both)…”what can I do to build soil during this disaster?” was the theme of the weekly (if not daily) phone conversations.

You can seemingly look for miles without seeing a cash crop planted in some areas of SE Minnesota
You can seemingly look for miles without seeing a cash crop planted in some areas of SE Minnesota

Cover Crops to the Rescue!

Brad’s goals are to build soil and to scavenge nitrogen from his hog operation and build nitrogen with legumes.  Realizing that we would plant in early-mid July and not in mid-late August we all understood that we did not want to have to mow to remove seed heads if at all possible – so we left Radishes out of the mix.  We also realized that we wanted to use a “summer” clover, so we used Berseem Clover for it’s excellent growth and N producing ability.  We chose Oats as the grass in most fields and then we added a twist, Pasja or Vivant Hybrid Brassica.  I have worked with Pasja for over 10 years and rarely ever saw it produce a seed head in the summer or fall.  While Pasja (nor Vivant) have a big tuber like a Radish they do have the ability to scavenge a tremendous amount of nitrogen and earthworms dwell around their roots.

Brad Hagen looking at his Pasja Hybrid Brassica and Berseem clover. These are brand new species to Brad.
Brad Hagen looking at his Pasja Hybrid Brassica and Berseem clover. These are brand new species to Brad.  This field was planted 10 days before the photo was taken.

In some later July (and soon to be mid-August) planted fields we chose to use Spring Barley and Crimson Clover along with PileDriver Radishes and Appin Turnips.  TJ and Brad requested this mix so we’d get later fall growth, deeper penetration through compacted soils (Radish vs. Pasja/Vivant) and excellent N production from the Crimson clover.  Spring Barley was available and many folks in Kentucky have told me that barley makes the soil “sweet” (whatever that means).  From experience I know that soil after Barley is quite mellow.

Early August Report

From what I saw on August 1 I was very impressed!  As other folks in the region were planting straight Oats or possibly a few were adding Radishes very few other folks seemed to totally share Brad’s goals.  Brad told me that he is doing these cover crops because he wants to build his soil and because he wants his 7 year old son to have better soil to farm when he grows up and farms his place like Brad does with his father.  I’ll have more photos in a month or so.  I believe Andrew, Brad and TJ will plan a field day for September.  It’s beautiful country near the Hagen farm…it probably will be worth the drive in September to meet Brad and his family.  They’re pretty special folks…

Take a look at my You Tube channel “covercropdave” to watch an interview I have with Brad and TJ.

This beautiful stand of cover crops was planted July 2, 2013 at Brad's dad's place not far from the hog barns. If you sniff this photo real hard you can smell the hogs!
This beautiful stand of cover crops was planted July 2, 2013 at Brad’s dad’s place not far from the hog barns. If you sniff this photo real hard you can smell the hogs!