In the summer of 2010 I entered a number of “cover crop” radishes into research plots in Michigan and Minnesota. Some of the products I entered were given to me from a supplier in Oregon. They had collected seed samples from Europe that had been touted as cover crop worthy. They weren’t. Fortunately those varieties
Cover Crop Radish Research reveals interesting data and information Read More »
“Planting this corn field was like planting into a garden” said my friend Dave. He has been a ‘cover cropper” for six years now. This year Dave no-tilled approximately 50% of his acres. Dave is one of the most innovative guys I know…but he’s also “cautious”; he does not want to lose money! That’s why
Photo diary- Corn after a cover crop (after corn) Read More »
As I take phone calls and conduct meetings I ask producers if they want to have the cover crop they are choosing to overwinter or die during the winter. I’d guess that the answer as split 50/50. The biggest reason for wanting the cover crop to die is that producers don’t want to have “to
What if a cover crop dies over the winter…was it still valuable? Read More »
Over the past number of weeks I’ve noticed quite a difference in radishes growing in farmers fields. Some are outstanding and consistent; deep and fairly large tubers (tuber girth seems to be related to fertility and age of stand). In the thumb of Michigan I saw over 300 acres of fields planted at 10#/acre that
You don’t always get what you want…but often get what you pay for! Read More »
There are big differences in cover crop radishes. Some are outstanding and consistent; deep and fairly large tubers (tuber girth seems to be related to fertility and age of stand). In the thumb of Michigan I saw over 300 acres of fields planted at 10#/acre that were just what the farmer wanted. We found most
Big Differences in Cover Crop Radishes Read More »
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
Crimson Clover; a jewel among the cover crop legumes Read More »