Plant Cover Crops

Learning about the benefits of planting cover crops.

Planting into Tall Austrian Winter Peas

Planting into “Out of Control” Peas – The Rest of the Story

In September 2011 I posted about an Ohio farmer that planted into “out of control” peas and shared about his story of how the field was looking pre-harvest.  I have recently visited with Dave (the producer) and he shared the information that a number of you asked for…and also surprising yield data. Dave farms with his father-in-law Ron in Mercer County, Ohio near Rockford (NW Ohio).

Sometimes it takes courage to farm with cover crops! Dave and his father-in-law Ron planted with confidence as the ground was "very mellow" compared to other ground without a cover crop.

Here are Dave’s observations and the 2010-2011 field history:

  • Hog Manure applied late summer of 2010 – 5000 gal/ac
  • No other fall fertilizer
  • N-Vest Groundbreaker Mix (Austrian Winter Peas and GroundHog Radish) planted Labor Day weekend 2010

Peas that survived – and other weeds, wheat, clover, etc. – were sprayed (after a wet, wet spring) on June 2, 2011.

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Herbicide/Insecticide Mix: (rates per acre)
20 gal Water
Alliance – .2 gal   (1 gal/100 gal water)
Roundup WeatherMax – 44oz
Weedone 650 – 1pt
PowerLock Surfactant – 6oz
Baythroid (insecticide) – 2oz

Corn was planted on June 3, 2011.

Additional Fertilizer applied (in addition to nutrients from manure and N from peas)

20 gal/ac 10-34-0 starter fertilizer with 1qt/ac zinc

40 gal/ac 28-0-0 side dress with Agrotain N stabilizer

Results

Even though several acres in the area were too wet to plant this field of peas was in great shape as you can see the row closed "perfectly" behind the planter.

Weigh wagon test showed 215 bu dry yield.  Dave guesses the whole field average was between 200-215 dry (he has no scales at home to check weight of entire crop).
Dave also thinks that the yield was 10-15 bu better that most of their other corn (w/o manure and w/o cover crops).

The seed placement of this no-till planting into the peas was "near-perfect".

All things considered…the wettest spring in Eastern Corn Belt History, late planting date, planting into 3+ foot tall peas, < 1″ of rain in the month of July (with 22 days 90 degrees or more), a wet fall that delayed harvest..and the result was over  200 bushels/acre.  I’d take that everyday for that part of Ohio, and so will Dave and his father-in-law Ron.

The roots on the peas were massive by early June. Don't expect this in most years but this certainly did not hinder planting, getting a good stand, or attaining a very high yield!

Other observations from Dave:

Positives:

Better soil structure

Deeper root penetration by corn roots

Great seedbed to plant into

Great soil cover after cover crop was killed

Better water retention thru the dry months

Nutrients saved from hog manure

Negatives:

Too much growth in wet spring

Took a lot of time to plant due to pea growth

 

Thanks Dave for sharing your story!

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.