Learning about the benefits of planting cover crops.
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.
Walking in cover crop fields in northern Indiana is easy compared to doing it northern Wisconsin.
In northern Indiana my main issue is tripping over large radish tubers sticking out of the ground.
In northern Wisconsin my main issue was that plus watching out for bears. I’m not talking about the Chicago Bears…but real live black bears! Although I did not see any while conducting cover crop field days near Coleman, WI on October 18, 2012, hearing the stories about the bears raising havoc while AgVentures Co-op employees were harvesting corn plots made me quite nervous.
The cover crop plot was fabulous. There were 5 different mixes to observe plus straight radishes planted at 8#/acre. The cooperator plans on taking yield tests over each different cover crop mix in his 2013 corn crop. If he is able to do that I’ll keep you informed of the results.
Sarah Carlson from Practical Farmers of Iowa reminded me that cover cropping north of I-80 is different than cover cropping in northern Indiana. She’s right. But how different is it, and why is it different?
Sarah is quoted in a very good article in Corn and Soybean Digest that helps explain the differences.
Several farmers in Wisconsin and northern Illinois are having cover crops aerial applied with good success. But I agree with Sarah; there are still challenges.
I see the following challenges to using cover crops North of I-80 after corn and soybeans:
While not every producer North of I-80 will have success with cover crops after corn and soybeans, there are a number now that are happy with their results.
My message is to use wisdom and best management practices.
IF you want to try cover crops after corn and soybeans and you are north of I-80, realize that you are not the first person to try it. Many have gone before you with good results.
Don’t give up before you investigate the possibilities.
Now, if you are north of I-90…
The Midwest Cover Crop Council (MCCC) has added different states and cropping systems to their useful cover crop selection tool. This tool is a very helpful item that assists producers in choosing what cover crops can be used in their counties with their cropping systems and their choice of cover crop characteristics.
Most recently Michigan State and the MCCC released a tool to help vegetable producers determine what cover crops will work best in their systems and for the attributes they desire. As I understand it, there will soon be a similar tool for Wisconsin vegetable farmers.
Wisconsin row crop farmers do have a cover crop selector tool that has been added within the past few months.
If you are looking for an additional way to check out different cover crop species then click here. And you can check on most of the common species used for cover crops in the Midwest by checking out the many blog posts on www.plantcovercrops.com.
In previous posts I have shared about the importance of applying cover crops at the correct time. I also looked at the difference in how cover crops emerged in corn and soybean fields when aerial applied in the fall of 2011. In the past several weeks I have traveled over much of Indiana and northwestern Ohio looking at aerial applied cover crops.
Four things I have noticed so far:
1) Aerial applicators seem to be doing a much better job in 2011 than in years past.
2) Correct timing of aerial application into cash crops is vital (that the crops are mature enough for cover crop success).
3) Corn and soybean variety maturity differences can change “success” rates.
4) It appears that row spacing in soybeans makes a big difference, especially in establishing crimson clover.
I was in a soybean field in Jasper County, IN, with Dan Perkins, SWCD Watershed and Conservation Program Specialist. It looked as though about one-half of the field had been harvested a week or so earlier than the other half because the cover crops were considerably taller and more dense in the earlier bean maturity area than in the later bean maturity part of the field.
But I was wrong about the harvest date…there was only 1 day harvest difference between the two areas. One difference was the genetic maturity of the varieties of soybeans. One variety was a 3.0 maturity and the other was a 3.4 maturity. Incidentally, the farmer reported that the two varieties yielded virtually the same.
Another key observation was made with differences in row spacing, particularly with crimson clover. In the 15″ and 30″ rows the crimson clover looked very good with an even stand and good growth. But in the fields with 7″ rows the stand did not look quite as good. In fact, in some fields with 7″ rows, the crimson clover was hard to find. The annual ryegrass and the cover crop radishes had a better stand than the crimson clover in the 7″ spaced rows, yet even they had considerably less growth than in the wider spaced rows.
Why does this matter? It matters because P-H-O-T-O-S-Y-N-T-H-E-S-I-S matters.
In many eastern corn belt soybean fields that the cover crops were aerial applied in are quite varied this year. Overall there has been very good moisture and adequate time for the cover crops to germinate and grow, but the rate of growth has varied considerably based on how mature the soybeans were at planting date. While the soybeans have been off for over a month as of this posting you can look at the photo taken on November 22 and still see a difference in cover crop “coverage” and growth.
The stands have been good over all but the amount of growth from that stand seems to vary a bit more than in past years.
The take-home message is that we need to make sure that crops are mature enough when applying cover crops. And if planting into fields with 7″ rows, maybe wait until 75% leaf yellowing to assure more sunlight hitting the ground when the seed is germinating. Sunlight really is important…just like my 9th grade biology teacher said it was.
