Plant Cover Crops

Learning about the benefits of planting cover crops.

Stand Establishment Following Cover Crops

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.

 

 

 

 

Do Cover Crops Keep the Soil Colder in the Spring?

Fact or Fiction? Cover Crops that Survive the Winter Keep the Soil Colder in the Spring than Fall-Tilled Soil

This is a question I get over and over again.  And most of the time it’s not really a question. It’s actually someone stating to me why they are not going to plant cover crops. But is it really true that a surviving cover crop will keep my soil colder than a conventionally tilled soil?

Several years ago in March I stopped at a cover crop test plot on the Indiana/Ohio border.  While I was there I checked the soil temperature where cover crops had survived (Annual Ryegrass and Winter Cereal Rye) to see if it was indeed colder than the tilled soil that surrounded the plot.

Surprising Results

What I found was a bit surprising considering the conventional “widsom” I commonly heard.  The soil temperature at 4″ depth was warmer by 1-2 degrees where we had a surviving cover crop than in moldboard plowed dark soil.  I sampled on a sunny day when the temperatures were in the 40’s.

Since then I have taken comparative soil temperatures in many locations where no-till was done, where there was no-till with cover crops, and where there was fall tilled soil.  In nearly every instance the area where there was a cover crop the soil temperatures were equal to or above the fall tilled soil temperatures.  Each of these samples were just taken one time – a snapshot test in time.

More Testing

This spring my brother Don Robison is taking soil temperatures and photos of a soil thermometer from our home farm near Greenwood, IN. He started taking these photos on March 29, 2013.  The plan is that Don will take soil temperatures for four or five consecutive Fridays – in annual ryegrass, in no-till soil (that has some winter annuals present), and in fall tilled soil.  And since March of 2013 has been quite cold when compared to recent years, the results should be interesting.

Results Will Be Recorded

Each week I will post the temperatures as Don send them to me.  Below you can see the temperatures from March 29.  Be sure to check back weekly for the results.

Do Your Own Experiment

Send me temperature readings and photos (phone camera quality is fine) and I’ll compile some data from different parts of the country (world) and pass the data along.  Please let me know your soil types and general weather conditions when you send in your reports.

The soil temperature on March 29, 2013 at approximately 4 inches in fall tilled soil.
The soil temperature on March 29, 2013 at approximately 4 inches in fall tilled soil.
The soil temperature on March 29, 2013 at approximately 4 inches in an annual ryegrass cover crop.
The soil temperature on March 29, 2013 at approximately 4 inches in an annual ryegrass cover crop.
Soil temperature reading on March 29, 2013 in no-till soil.
The soil temperature reading on March 29, 2013 at approximately 4 inches in no-till soil.

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.

Photo Diary – Soybeans planted into a Cereal Rye cover crop- part 2

I am so pleased to present these photos of how well my friend Dave’s soybeans planted into tall cereal rye looks. Dave is from central Indiana between Indy and Lafayette. See the previous photo diary here.  I know Dave gained lots of encouragement to try this from Howard and Mike Weller from the Continental, Ohio area. Click here see the Weller’s presentation that they gave at the Ada, OH cover crop meeting.  Enjoy the photos sent from my friend Dave!

This photo was taken June 21. The rye is falling down and the beans look beautiful!

 

 

Another view taken on June 21, 2011.
This photo was taken the morning of July 1 after a rain shower. The beans are now just about to outgrow the rye stubble. Note the cleanliness of the field…no weeds and no escapes on the rye.

 

 

 

 

Another photo taken July 1, 2011.

 

 

The soybeans are growing well in this cover crop of cereal rye!
You cannot beat farming! No-till soybeans into a cereal rye cover crop, a rain on July 1 and a rainbow! Perfect!

 

 

 

Do Cover Crops Hinder Corn Population?

Cover Crop Problems?

Corn Planted into Bruiser Annual Ryegrass

I often hear folks saying that farmers should be careful planting into cover crops. There is fear that:

  • “there will be slugs.”
  • you “can’t adequately kill the cover crops.”
  • you can’t depend on getting a “normal” stand.

Well, here we are after one of the wettest Springs in the Eastern Corn Belt history and we have had challenges getting the crop in.  But getting a good stand planting into cover crops has NOT seemed to be a problem.

Cover Crop Testing

Corn Planted into "Forager Mix" - a mix of Oats, Cereal Rye, and Appin Turnips

In the Fall of 2010 I conducted a test at  Robison Farms near Greenwood, Indiana.  My brother Don and I simulated aerial application of 9 different cover crop entries (mixes and straight species).  While we had very little rain in the Fall until late October, we had excellent winter and spring growth on most of the non-irrigated plots.  We had the same plot entries in a different part of the field that received 3″ of irrigation (weekly applications of 0.5″ rain for 6 weeks) and all of the cover crops did very well in those plots.

Stand Establishment Results

Corn Planted into a "Kitchen Sink Mix" (foreground) vs no cover crop in background - where Don is standing).

Stand establishment results were very positive towards no-till planting into cover crops as we look at the Robison Farms results.  My take home is that in an exceptionally wet year we did not lose any stand because of the cover crops.  In most areas we actually held steady or improved (slightly) compared to the no-till without cover crops.  Slugs?  None. Cannot get them killed?  I’d say better than 99% kill rate…and less broadleaf weeds in the cover crop plots.

This is one location in one year…one very wet, very challenging year.  Many farmers have told me how their stands were at least as good in their cover crop fields compared to having no cover crops…and some have some great stories about how they actually planted earlier in their cover crop fields than they could in their non-cover crop fields.

What was your experience this year? I’d love to hear from you.

Here is a video that shows what my brother Don and I observed.