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.
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.
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.
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…
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!
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.
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.
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
Disadvantages:
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!
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:
Disadvantages of Crimson Clover:
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.
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.
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.
There are several other options but these will certainly give you a good start in making selections.