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Learning about the benefits of planting cover crops.

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Wheat

Sep 12 2013

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.

 

Written by Dave Robison · Categorized: Cover Crop Benefits, Cover Crop Meetings, Cover Crop Plots, Cover Crop Research, Cover Crops in the Northland, Education, Establishing in dry conditions, Field Days, Seed Selection: What to Plant After..., Wheat · Tagged: cover crop field days, cover crop research, cover crops, Cover Crops in Wisconsin, EarthBuilder Cover Crops, Legacy Seeds, U-W Extension, Wisconsin NRCS

Oct 25 2012

Cover Crops and Bears?

Radishes, Crimson Clover, and Bears

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.

This cover crop plot near Coleman, WI had beautiful radishes with large tubers – and thankfully NO bears!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The radishes were from 1″ to 3″ in diameter and quite deeply rooted. There was manure applied after wheat harvest so the radishes were “well fed”.

 

 

 

Written by Dave Robison · Categorized: Breaking Up Compaction, Cover Crop Benefits, Cover Crop Plots, Cover Crops in Wisconsin, Seed Selection: What to Plant After..., Wheat · Tagged: black bears, cover crop mixes, cover crop plots, cover crops, Cover Crops in Wisconsin, Radishes

Sep 06 2011

Farmer Report from Ohio – Planting into “Out of Control” Peas

The cover crop radishes varied in size with the amount of moisture in the field in the fall of 2010.

My good friend David from Mercer County, Ohio is a great cover crop advocate.  Over the past few years he and his father-in-law have begun planting cover crops after their wheat crop is harvested.  The first year he planted oats and cover crop radish and this past year they planted a mixture called N-Vest® Groundbreaker Mix (a mixture of Austrian winter peas and cover crop radishes).  The summer of 2010 set some records for being exceptionally dry.  Neither the peas nor radish grew the way anyone hoped for, but David did find radish roots around 20 inches deep.  The peas were less than spectacular but still acceptable for as dry as it was.

No-tilling corn into this mix of peas and wheat looked like an easy task in early May when this photograph was taken...but the rains kept coming!
This is not what was expected! Early June 2011 was wet and the peas were tall.

As I have reported in several previous posts, the weather in NW Ohio and the Eastern Corn Belt was the wettest in 120 plus years of keeping records.  The Austrian winter peas and volunteer wheat over-wintered.  In early May David was convinced that they would no-till directly into that “mix.”  But the rain came and came often! By early June the peas had grown quite a bit, like up to four feet tall…and that is what they no-tilled into.  Actually, David said it was the “most mellow soil” he planted into all spring.

Just a few days after planting David sent me the photos of a beautiful stand of corn where the peas had been over 4 feet tall.
Three weeks after planting the corn looked great and the cover crop was dead. This photo was taken June 21, 2011.

I joke that David was nearly written out of the family will when he started no-till planting his corn!  The neighbors were all watching but David persevered and kept planting…even though it was not as easy or as early as he hoped it would be.  A few days later David e-mailed me more photos…and then a week later more photos…

Exactly four weeks after planting and the corn looks remarkable.

So now the neighbors are wondering about this David “kid” that married into this operation.  Maybe he is not as foolish as they thought earlier in the spring!  Exactly four weeks after planting the corn was over “knee high by the 4th of July” and now the neighbors are asking what that cover crop was!

In mid-July, six weeks after planting and the weather has been HOT and dry...but according to David, the field "shows less stress" than conventionally tilled field that had no cover crops.

But the dry summer of 2010 was now being duplicated by another dry summer and the summer of 2011 has been much hotter than 2010.  So how has the no-till corn fared during these challenging conditions? Very well, actually.

There was less than 2" of rain in a very hot July and yet the field looks quite good considering the heat and dryness that it has experienced.

So will David plant cover crops again?  Yes!  In fact they are already in the ground and waiting for rain to emerge.  David has been very excited all the way through this process as he has been confident he is doing the right thing for his soil and the future of his farming operation.  Thanks to David for providing the photos and information to encourage all of us that cover crops are an exciting option that we should all consider.

Written by Dave Robison · Categorized: Austrian Winter Peas, Cover Crop Benefits, Cover Crop Challenges, Delayed Spring Planting, Planting into Tall Austrian Winter Peas, Seed Selection: What to Plant After..., Stand Establishment Following Cover Crops, Types of Cover Crops, Wheat, Winterhardiness · Tagged: Austrian Winter Peas, Cover Crop Benefits, cover crop radishes, cover crops, no-tilling into winter peas

Mar 03 2011

Medium Red Clover as a cover crop

Medium Red Clover frost seeded into wheat provides good nitrogen production and excellent forage/green manure.

Frost seeding clover into wheat has been a standard practice for many years.  Many producers have used “60/40 Plowdown Clover” in their wheat…but in many areas that practice has stopped as double crop soybean plantings have pushed further into northern Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.  If double crop soybeans are not an option (or not desired) then a great choice for a cover crop in 2011 is Medium Red Clover.  While the 60/40 Mixture generally included 60% Mammoth Red Clover and 40% Yellow Blossom Sweetclover it seems more economical to use VNS Medium Red Clover because of the pricing of the seed this winter.  Be sure to use a pre-inoculated seed when sowing into your wheat so you get much improved clover production and N production.

Below are the advantages and disadvantages of using Medium Red Clover as a cover crop.  (This cover crop will pretty much be used in wheat acres.)

Advantages:

Advantages

  • Produces 75-100# N
  • Good root system-soil builder
  • Easy to frost seed into wheat
  • Often least cost cover crop
  • Easily killed
  • Excellent for forage

Disadvantages:

  • May get too tall in wheat and affect harvest

Written by Dave Robison · Categorized: Nitrogen from Cover Crops, Red Clover, Soil Improvement, Wheat

Aug 23 2010

Radish planted with wheat (at seeding time) adds yield? There are a bunch of farmers saying “yes, it does!”

While in northwest Ohio in the Fall of 2010 for a manure management field day, some area farmers told me that wheat producers are adding 2-4# of cover crop radishes per acre to the wheat in the drill…and experiencing excellent results.

Some reported gaining 5-7 bushels per acre by adding the radishes.  Others even reduced their nitrogen application by 20% and still got a 5 bu/acre increase where the radishes were planted with the wheat versus where there were no radishes.  

 As one gentleman said, “It is like having a bunch of ‘french wells’ in the field.”  The ground dries faster, the radishes scavenge N and hold it until spring…then slowly release the N to the wheat crop in the spring…cool huh?  These won’t be the “state fair” size radishes when planted that late, but they will be 5-12″ deep, maybe the size of your ring finger. It’s an idea to consider!

Written by Dave Robison · Categorized: Higher Yields, Radishes, Wheat · Tagged: cover crop radishes, radishes planted with wheat

Jun 16 2010

Crimson Clover; a jewel among the cover crop legumes

bee on crimson clover
Crimson clover is a top nitrogen producer and beautiful as well.

Crimson clover is a real jewel among the cover crop species.  Crimson clover is an excellent producer of nitrogen and there are some newer varieties on the market that are very winterhardy even into Michigan.  Dr. Eileen Kladivko measured how much nitrogen was produced by crimson clover in a test plot in western Indiana.  What she found was quite amazing!  After around 90 days the crimson clover had produced over 140# of nitrogen per acre!  Now, this was a limited test of one plot but the best of the other plots came in at just over 50# N produced.  That is a significant amount of nitrogen.

Crimson clover mixes very well with annual ryegrass (to help the ryegrass be healthier and growing better when there is no manure applied).  It also mixes well with cover crop radishes and or turnips.  Crimson clover is generally considered more shade tolerant so it works well aerial applied into standing corn.

Crimson clover MUST be inoculated for best success.

I have listed some advantages and disadvantages below:

Advantages of Crimson Clover:

  • There are some excellent new varieties on the market that are more winterhardy.
  • There are earlier maturing varieties that mature early enough to make more N in the spring before killing.
  • At around 90 days after wheat it can produce upwards towards 140 units of nitrogen.
  • Earthworms love the environment around the roots of crimson clover…it’s creates “earthworm heaven!”
  • It is easy to kill in the spring.

Disadvantages of Crimson Clover:

  • VNS and MOST older varieties will probably not survive the winter in the Midwest.
  • It has some hard seed so you may see some coming up some months after planting.
  • If it is a very late wet spring there is a slight chance the clover will re-seed itself.

Crimson in ARg
Crimson clover mixed with annual ryegrass is a great cover crop combination.
Crimsom roots
Properly inoculated crimson clover produces large and multiple nodules. Note the root hairs as well.

Written by Dave Robison · Categorized: Corn, Cover Crops and Earthworms, Crimson Clover, Higher Yields, Improved Varieties, Lower Inputs, Nitrogen from Cover Crops, Radishes, Soil Improvement, Types of Cover Crops, Wheat · Tagged: cover crops, Crimson Clover

Jun 12 2010

Cover Crop Selection – What to plant after wheat or other cereal grains?

I was in a meeting yesterday and the gentlemen from SWCD asked me:

“What should we recommend for our producers to plant as a cover crop after the wheat comes off?”

After running through a number of scenarios I determined that I’d better make sure I don’t confuse folks with too many ideas.  So, here are a few scenarios that I hope you find useful.

If you want to scavenge Nitrogen and other nutrients, then a good choice would be Oats and Radishes mixed together.  This mix generally should be planted at 1 1/2 bu Oats and 2-5# of Oilseed radish/acre.  This mix also requires manure or around 40# N applied for it to be the ideal mix for this situation.  This mixture will die in the winter and provide excellent winter annual weed control.  Best planting time is Mid August…so you have plenty of time to get weeds killed and manure applied.

2009_0909earlySept20090256
Sudangrass and Sorghum-Sudangrass are excellent crops after wheat if you need animal feed.

If you have livestock to feed, other great nutrient scavengers to plant after wheat are Sudangrass, Pearl Millet, or Sorghum-Sudangrass. These summer annual grasses require 100+# of N or equivalent manure. Tonnage of 4 1/2 tons Dry matter/acre have been common in northern Indiana following wheat the past three years. These grasses are excellent soil builders as well. Mycorrhizae fungus find the roots of these plants a very good place to multiply and build soil structure.

2009_1213December20090049
Oats and Radish Mixture following wheat. Hog manure was nitrogen source.
2009_11172covercropsfall20090507
When properly inoculated, Austrian Winter Peas are prolific producers of nodules (and nitrogen).
2009_11172covercropsfall20090483
Oilseed Radishes are "nutrient sorage facilities"! These big tubers take in significant amounts of nitrogen and other nutrients.

If you want to produce nitrogen and also scavenge nutrients as well, then an excellent choice will be Austrian Winter Peas mixed with Oilseed Radish .  This mixture works very well without the addition of additional nitrogen.  Count on the peas to deliver 60-120# of N and the oilseed radishes to keep most all of it in the top soil root zone. This mixture does a great job of controlling weeds.  The radishes will die in the winter and the peas will “probably” die too…depending on your location, planting time of the mixture, and snow cover.  If they overwinter they are easily killed in the spring.

If you are looking mainly for nitrogen production with a species that will winterkill, then choose cowpeas.  The past few years cowpeas have been very expensive to plant.  Be sure to check pricing and also be sure to inoculate the seed at planting time.  Sow 60-100#/acre of cowpeas.

If you want the nitrogen production with a crop that will overwinter, then crimson clover is a top choice.  Excellent new varieties have come on the market the past few years.  Be sure to inoculate this seed as well. Sow 20-25#/acre of crimson clover.

Cover crops May 2010 010
Crimson clover planted after wheat is an excellent nitrogen producer.

There are several other options but these will certainly give you a good start in making selections.

Written by Mark · Categorized: Seed Selection: What to Plant After..., Wheat · Tagged: cover crop selection, cover crops, cowpeas, oats and radishes, produce nitrogen, scavenge nitrogen, sudangrass

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