Plant Cover Crops

Learning about the benefits of planting cover crops.

Education

Followup in On-Farm Cover Crop Trial

The corn is now harvested at Robison Farms in rural Greenwood, IN and we are pleasantly surprised.

Accurate Yield Estimates

We actually achieved a somewhat higher yield than the hand check “guesstimate” that my brother Don and I made back in August.  We reported this yield in the blog post Cover Crops Provide Improved Corn Yields in On-Farm Trial .  The actual yield was 107 bushels per acre across the whole field and our estimate was in the  105+ bushels range.

This gives me confidence that the differentiation we showed in the yield in the different cover crops and cover crop mixes was pretty accurate.  As you will see on the blog post there were some mixes that yielded more than 50 bushels per acre better than the no-cover crop check.

Impressive Root Structure and Soil Moisture

Would the whole field have averaged 50 bushels per acre better if it had all been in cover crops in 2012? I doubt it.

But I think it would probably have been quite a bit better than what the field averaged without cover crops. Here’s why:

  • Better Root Growth
  • Greater Amount of Soil Moisture

One reason that I think there would have been a significant yield increase over the whole field is because of what Don and I found when we dug up some plants. We found more moisture and more roots where we had cover crops versus where we had no cover crops.

In the non-cover crop area:

  • We had to use a shovel and a pick-ax to dig.
  • The ground was exceptionally compacted, hard, and dry.

In the cover crop area:

  • We used just a shovel to dig.
  • We had much less compaction (in most areas).
  • It was distinctly more moist (like comparing a fairly dry sponge versus a sponge that had not been submerged in water for 2 months).
This corn plant was dug up in the area where we had a cover crop mix in mid-August 2012 under severe drought conditions.  Note the additional root and the moistness of the soil compared to the photo to the right.

 

This corn plant was dug from the non-cover crop check area with a pick-ax and shovel. The ground was compacted, hard, and very dry. It is amazing that the corn looked as good as it did!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don Robison holding up a corn plant from the cover crop plot area that had Austrian Winter Peas and Radishes.  Look at the root-ball and moisture compared to the next photo.

Don is not working near as hard to hold this corn plant from the non-cover crop check area. The root ball was smaller and the soil was much drier. I’m not sure why Don was smiling. Most of the 50 acre field did not have cover crops! Like Dad would sometimes say, “get that smile off your face!”

Earthworms

As Don and I were digging in the areas where we had cover crops we were pleased to find earthworms. There were no earthworms to be found in the non-cover crop check area.

This field has been no-tilled for most of the last 20 years and we usually find earthworms, but it was so hot and dry that I assume the worms either died (fried) or went deep into cooler, more moist soil (this year that may have been 5-6 feet deep).  But again, we found some earthworms in the cover crop plot area.

In retrospect, we should have compared soil temperatures on the day we dug roots and took yield estimates.

An earthworm in the cover crop plot area. Though we did not see many in the plot area we saw none in the non-cover crop check area.

 

As dry as the summer of 2012 was, it was interesting to find earthworm activity in the area where we had the cover crop plots. There was no such activity evident in the non-cover crop check area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Takeaway Message from Robison Farms in 2012

  • Cover crops can increase corn yield even in very dry years.
  • Corn following cover crops consistently out yielded corn that was not following a cover crop in hand check yield estimates.
  • Hand check yield estimates were consistent to actual yield on the non-cover crop check.
  • Cover crops can help preserve soil moisture even in a severe drought.
  • Corn roots following cover crops appeared to be consistently larger and deeper than where there had not been a cover crop.
  • There was more earthworm activity in the cover crop areas.
  • There was less compaction in most cover crop plots compared to the non-cover crop check.

In a future post we will look at “Crop Health Imaging” maps that Beck’s Hybrids did for our farm.  These were taken a bit late in the season but they were still very interesting…and telling!

 

 

 

 

 

Four Cover Crop Field Days in NW Indiana and Down-State Illinois

The plots in Indiana and at TNT farms will have soil pits to look at the roots and to see how the soil is benefitting from the cover crops.

I know that there are lots of cover crop field days that I do not list on this site.

However, I usually try to get cover crop field days listed on the Midwest Cover Crops Council website when I hear about them.   However, I have four field days that I believe will be attractive to all of my Midwestern cover crop friends.

The first “event” listed below is actually 2 events on back to back days held in neighboring counties.

 

 

 

 

Jasper/Newton County Cover Crop Field Days – 2 days of cover crop tours put on by Newton and Jasper Counties in Indiana (NW IN). Dan Perkins and Rose Morgan are two of the top SWCD people for putting on field days in Indiana and there will be lots to see.

TNT Farm – Terry Taylor (TNT Farm) is an avid cover cropper and an excellent farmer in down-state Illinois.  Terry is hosting a field day on his farm on November 7, 2012 that promises to be an excellent opportunity to learn about using cover crops on heavier soils.

Dudley Smith Farm Beef Cow-Calf Field Day – I will be speaking on The Role of Cover Crops in a Grazing Program in Pana, IL on November 8, 2012.  I will be working that day with the “best of the best,” Ed Ballard, who introduced me to cover crops and extending the grazing season while using cover crops. I have spoken in years past at this event and U of I always puts on a great meeting that is very valuable to beef cattle producers.

As harvest winds down it is time to plan for 2013.  Please consider attending one of these four meetings to learn more about how cover crops can impact your farming operation.

At the 2011 Cover Crop Field Days in Jasper and Newton County, Indiana, Dan Perkins found a BIG surprise of a radish. It will be interesting to see what is found in the field days this year.

Is it Ever Too Early to Plant Cover Crops?

Is it ever too early plant cover crops?  YES.

As many of you have figured out, I sell seed for a living.  I also have been a farmer or involved on the farm since I was a little boy.

But first and foremost I am an agronomist.

The temptation of a seed salesman is to recommend planting a cover crop either too early or too late – and then somehow justify it. However, as an agronomist and a former farmer, I simply cannot do that. I also want to be able to look at myself in the mirror without guilt.

Cover crops have to work for the farmer, not the seed salesman.  There are several fantastic seedsmen out there and I do not want to disparage that fine profession.  I feed my family by being a seedsman and marketing seed. Most seedsmen are a trusted source of information and quality seed.

Questions I Get A Lot

The planting date question comes up a lot. For example:

  • How soon can a farmer plant cover crops after wheat has been harvested?
  • Can a farmer plant clovers into corn at “the last cultivation?” (even though only a few farmers still cultivate).
  • When is it too early to plant radishes?
  • When is it too late to plant radishes?

Money has not always been good in agriculture and I doubt that this current boom will last forever (it never did before).  So I want to give answers based on sound agronomic practices that will work 90% of the time.

Question: Can you plant crimson clover at “lay-by”?

Yes you can.  My granddad did that practice back in the 1950’s.  Of course he planted in 38″ rows with 16-18,000 plants per acre.  He did not use herbicides but he did cultivate.

However, how many of us farm like my granddad did?  A few of you might –  with good reason to do so (specialty corn or organic production).  But, can it work with modern herbicides and plant populations pushing 35,000 plants per acre?  Maybe, but not consistently – and probably not.

I think I tried to say “no” but I’m aware that some farmers have done it.  But, can we do a practice if it is not going to work 90+% of the time?  Not on a large scale.  Can we afford to try it on a few acres?  Maybe.

Here is a northeast Indiana farmer’s testimony of his success spreading crimson clover into his growing corn at sidedress time.  I am sharing this exactly as it was sent to me – trusting that it is accurate. I do not know the farmer who submitted the testimony.

I broadcast 10 lbs/acre of crimson clover at sidedress time this year. I seeded it on 6/6. We got essentially no rain from the first week of May until the last week of July. I figured the clover wouldn’t grow, but it laid there until we got rain and by harvest we had a nice stand. I’m not sure how this would work in a ‘normal’ year, but it sure worked good this year. I left some check strips and the clover didn’t affect the yield.   The seeder was just an old 12V spinner seeder I clamped onto our N toolbar. I’m attaching pictures of it and the clover stand. 

Photos provided are below.

My Observations

My guess is that this farmer used only glyphosate and no residual herbicide.  It was also terribly dry this summer and this seeding would have been more like a “dormant seeding”.

This was not at all typical for an Indiana summer. It was the driest July on record and June and August were also very dry.  Note how short the corn is in the photo with the corn head.  There was a lot of corn 3-5′ tall this year in Indiana.  I’d guess that a 5 foot height would cover the corn height in this field.  If the crimson would have been planted in a “normal” year I would be surprised if he would have had success like this.  But, boy, it sure is a beautiful stand in these photos!

If you try this practice, just experiment with a few acres to see what works on your farm.

Seeding Crimson Clover at “lay-by” in June in NW Indiana.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note how short the corn is in the photo. Contrary to the belief of Illinois and Iowa farmers, this is not typical for NW Indiana corn! Most likely the rains that came in August were adequate to germinate the clover and there was plenty of sunlight getting to the ground so the seedlings had heat, moisture, and sunlight. What a beautiful cover crop!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a beautiful stand of crimson clover between rows of harvested corn! Unfortunately the lack of corn fodder shows that the corn was under severe stress in 2012. While achieving a nice cover crop is important, I would prefer 200+ bushels/acre corn and a less advanced stand of clover at harvest time.

Question: Can you plant radishes right after wheat harvest?

No.

Even if you use an excellent radish,  it will bolt.  I don’t care which radish you use – it WILL BOLT if you plant it too early in the summer.

Bolting means that it will try to produce seed.  Generally a radish that bolts has a smaller and shorter tuber and most of the plant energy goes to seed production instead of root tuber production. If you wait until early August and use the proper radish you will see very little if any bolting.

I have been in several fields this fall that had no plants bolted.  I have also seen many fields that had a high percentage of plants that bolted.  Some claim that the exceptionally high soil temperatures in the summer of 2012 caused the August planted radishes to bolt.  That may be the case.  One thing I know for certain, if a radish is planted in July, it almost always bolts and can produce viable seed in the fall – and that could create potential problem for years to come.

Dave’s Best Advice

Wait until August to plant your cover crop radishes.  Use the few weeks between wheat harvest and planting cover crops to clean up weeds that were in the wheat field and also control volunteer wheat.  Patience is a great virtue.  It is important that you see an excellent return on your investments that we make in cover crop seed and seeding cost.  Our goal should not be “to be done first” but rather to have the best cover crop and healthiest soil.

I hate seeing fields like this as I know there was potential for seed to be produced and dropped to the soil possibly creating some issues in future years. Was this field planted too early or was the wrong radish planted? I do not know but I do know that farmers should chose wisely on planting time and what radish to plant.  Thankfully not every plant bolted so there are still plenty of plants “doing the radish thing” in the soil very well.

Cover Crops Planted After Wheat in a Dry Year

Can you still gain value in a cover crop when it is planted after wheat in a dry year?

During the week of October 15, 2012 I traveled a wide swath of Wisconsin looking at cover crops.  In the eastern half of the state the cover crops looked very good.  In the western half the cover crops looked desperately poor.   The difference?  Moisture.

Northwestern Wisconsin – Terribly Dry

While on farms near Osceola, WI (right along the St. Croix River – the river that forms the border between Wisconsin and Minnesota in that part of the state), I observed a sad sight.  Cover crops that had been in the ground for 6 weeks were either not germinated  or had little growth.  While the early part of the growing season had more than adequate rainfall and corn yields were near 200 bu/acre, the last 7-8 weeks has seen less than 1/2″ and the cover crops look…well, they look horrible.

Central Sands Region – Dry But with Some Promise

Near Hancock, in the Central Sands Region of Wisconsin, there is a mixed bag of results.

Where farmers used irrigation to “water -up” the cover crops, there are nice stands with adequate growth to have a “successful” cover crop to achieve many benefits.  Unfortunately, where there was no irrigation used there was much less “success.”

Again, it was dry for several weeks before and after the cover crops were planted after the wheat crop had been harvested.  A few days before my cover crop field day there was a 4 inch rain.  The farmer and dealer present said that the plot “changed overnight” as it had grown so much since there was some moisture.

The beautiful thing about the cover crops in the central sands is that they established and actually looked amazingly good compared to what I envisioned they would. The winter cereal rye was tillered nicely and the oats were 5-6 inches tall.  The radishes, oats,and rye all drilled through the compaction zone that we found at 3-4 inches deep.

What was not apparently impressive was the crimson clover or Austrian winter peas – at least not for coverage or height. The crimson clover was only about 1 inch tall and the peas were 3-4 inches tall.  However, what was surprising was how many nodules were on the clover and peas and that the roots were 4-5″ deep and through the compaction zone as well!

Northeastern Wisconsin – What a Difference Moisture Makes

The crimson clover was not at all impressive even though the seed was planted 7 weeks previous to this photo being taken. However, with virtually no rainfall it is amazing there was any clover established at all in the Central Sands Region of WI.
Seven or eight weeks of dry weather did not help cover crops in this field near Osceola, WI emerge very quickly in 2012. Will there be any value to this cover crop? Sadly, no.  Note how small the radishes and turnips are.  These cannot be declared valuable to this farmer.  Thankfully the winter Rye should survive the winter.

 

 

 

With less than 1/2″ of rain since planting into dry soil, this cover crop field in western Wisconsin near Osceola never had a chance to achieve the goals the farmer had for it improving the soil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the test plot in the Central Sands Region.  From Right to left; Radishes, Oats, Winter Rye, and various mixes. Are these cover crops valuable? I believe so because they are through the compaction zone and the rye and many of the mixes will have components that survive the winter.

 

 

If you enlarge this photo you will be amazed how many nodules are on this tiny crimson clover plant. The roots were over 5″ deep which was through the compaction zone at the Hancock, WI plot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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”.

 

 

 

Cover Crops in Noble County, Indiana

State and local Soil and Water Conservation Districts have been a wonderful partner over the past 4 years in helping to educate farmers about the value of cover crops in their local area.  Over the past four years Indiana SWCDs have planted or overseen over 300 cover crop test plots.  Recently the Noble County (Indiana) Soil and Water Conservation District held a field day where they did a great job of educating area farmers on the benefits and applications of cover crops for their county.

First, they put together a cover crop information sheet showing the various seeds and mixes that can be planted, as well as the seeding dates for their area.

Second, they provide a list of local suppliers for seed, herbicides, and applicators.

But most impressive is the test plot they put out. Working with a local farmer, they seeded 9 different plots, along with a “check” plot, which had no cover. They purchased the seed from Ag Plus, which is located in Columbia City, IN.

Below are pictures from the plot, which were taken on October 11, 2012. The plot was seeded at 3/4 inch using a drill – on August 24. Stacey McGinnis, from Noble County SWCD noted that quite a lot of volunteer wheat came back up and the ground was fairly compacted (soil is a silty clay loam). On Monday, October 8, there was a killing frost.

When asked what the goal of the test plots were, Stacey commented “to get farmers who are on the fence about cover crops to begin to experiment” and “to get farmers who are using some cover crops to begin to try some of the mixes, which will give them more benefit.”

Below are the pictures from the plot, along with a brief explanation of some of the benefits below each picture. You can click on the picture to see a larger version. Also, hover your mouse over the picture for a quick description.

Winter Rye

Winter Rye:

  • can be established later than many other cover crops
  • will overwinter
  • works extremely well when the next crop is soybeans

Winter Rye & Radish Mix

With winter rye and radish mixed together, you get:

  • all the advantages listed above for winter rye, plus the radish will:
  • scavenge left-over nutrients
  • break up compaction
  • invite quite a few earthworms to the party

Austrian Winter Peas & Radish Mix

Along with the advantages of the radish, Austrian winter peas produce nitrogen for the next crop. So, by mixing these two together, you have a nitrogen producing and nitrogen scavenging environment all mixed into one.

Oats

Oats are great for several reasons. Oats:

  • scavenge nitrogen from the soil.
  • have a deep and fibrous root mass.
  • are excellent for forage.
  • winter kill very easily.
  • work very well with other cover crops in mixes.

Oats & Winter Rye & Turnips

This mixture of oats, winter rye, and turnips has several advantages for livestock producers. The oats produce a tremendous amount of forage for the fall, while the winter rye will over-winter and give you more forage for the spring. The turnips adds a lot of protein for the livestock, but are also very capable nitrogen scavengers themselves.

Buckwheat

 

Buckwheat is a useful green manure crop. It can produce significant amounts of dry matter. Up to 3 tons of dry matter per acre has been obtained after 6 to 8 weeks of growth on relatively unproductive land under Pennsylvania conditions. When plowed under, the plant material decays rapidly, making nitrogen and mineral constituents available for the succeeding crop. The resulting humus improves physical condition and moisture-holding capacity of soil. Where a second crop of green manure is desired, rye may be drilled into the buckwheat stubble and plowed under in the spring. The rye frequently can be drilled into the buckwheat stubble without previous disking or plowing. Buckwheat green manure may also fit into fairly tight rotations such as when a crop is harvested prior to mid-July and a succeeding crop is not scheduled until fall. If volunteer buckwheat is harmful in the succeeding crop, then the green manure crop of buckwheat should be destroyed before a large number of seeds mature.

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/buckwheat.html

As noted above, there was a killing frost on this plot on Monday, October 8. However, that is not what killed this buckwheat. This buckwheat plot was killed 3 weeks prior with a light frost. Notice also that the oats and radishes look just fine, even after the first killing frost.

Annual Ryegrass

Annual ryegrass is:

  • deep rooted and helps mine minerals from deep in the soil profile.
  • an excellent erosion control crop.
  • a luxury consumer of nitrogen and tremendous scavenger of N.
  • easily aerial applied into corn and soybeans.
  • an excellent forage crop.

Annual Ryegrass & Crimson Clover & Radish

This is a cover crop mix on steroids. Two excellent compaction breakers are mixed with the nitrogen production of the crimson clover.

No Cover Crop

As you can see, where there is no cover crop, weeds are starting to take root.

Thanks to Stacey McGinnis at the Noble County SWCD for this excellent cover crop work. Thanks to Mark Perry from Beck’s Hybrids for sending these pictures to me and keeping me up to speed on the cover crop work going on in Noble County. And thanks to Jim Eiler from Ag Plus in Columbia City for hustling some last minute seed over to this site so they could get everything planted at the same time.

If you’ve not had a chance to get out to a cover crop field day or a cover crop test plot, and there is one in your area, try to schedule a time to take a look. Let the experimenting begin.

Cover Crop Q/A on Sequestering N from Drought Stricken Corn Crop

Have you ever wished you could get some “one on one” time with cover crop experts, two whom also happen to be plant or soil scientists?

Consider yourself fortunate because you can now have a “fireside chat” with John Meisinger from Maryland and Tom Kaspar from Iowa, and me.  After the CropLife Webinar – Dealing with Drought: Securing Unused Nitrogen in a Dry Year the three of us were challenged to answer the questions from the audience that were asked during the webinar.  We did not have time to answer the questions on the live webinar so I am presenting the Cover Crops Webinar Q/A that the three of us participated in.

A sampling of the questions are: 

  • How do the brassicas compare to small grains in terms of nitrate recovery?
  • What risks are there to soil moisture management with cover crops? If the spring is dry, can cover crops make the following crop’s emergence worse? If the spring is wet, are there risks to getting equipment in the field to kill the cover crop?
  • Do the cover crop radishes release the N they take up during the following crop year? If so, how much? Your slide showed 250 pounds of N being taken up per acre into the radish – is this all released the following cropping season?
  • …and 31 more!

It may help to watch the webinar first, but even if you can’t do that, the sound agronomic advice should be very helpful.

Cover Crops Provide Improved Corn Yields in On-Farm Trial

All of what is reported below was accomplished after only one year of cover crops.  This work was inspired by a conversation Don and I had last winter with Dr. Eileen Kladivko from Purdue University.  As I say in cover crop meetings,

Don’t expect a miracle the first year – but look for one.

Over the exceptionally dry and super hot late-spring/summer months of 2012 my brother Don Robison collected “plant-health” related data on our corn field at Robison Farms near Greenwood, IN.  Don took data on the corn  from each area of the cover crop plot we planted last fall over the top of a soybean field as well in the “check area” (no cover crop area).

The data he took throughout the summer included plant chlorophyll readings, plant height, and compaction readings.  I presented some of the chlorophyll data on the CropLife Webinar and at several cover crop meetings this summer (and more is posted below).

On August 15th Don and I took hand harvested yield checks from each area and from the check area.   The data on the corn yield was almost identical to what we found with the chlorophyll data and compaction data. Where we had the healthier plants all season long (more “green-ness” and deeper roots) we had higher yields.

To figure yield we utilized this formula we found at a Purdue University agronomy website.

Each cover crop treatment out yielded the “no cover crop check”. The top three yielding plots also had the least compaction and highest chlorophyll readings through out the drought stricken summer.  The check plot yield was 105.24 bushels per acre.  The top yield estimate was 164.82 bushels per acre.

 

The area where the plot was had a 24″ water line was installed by the county in 2009; so it was intended to be a “rescue disturbed soil trial”.  The corn was not harvested directly over the water line but it was where the soil from the water line was mixed in with the top soil.  In 2011 the field was in Soybeans and yielded 48 bushels/acre.  In 2010 the field was corn and yielded 198 bushels/acre.  The whole field has been no-tilled for most of the past 20 years (there were some years with conventional tillage done – mainly in the early 90’s).  175 Units of N were applied (100 units (28%) with the chemical burn down application early season and 75 units side dressed (28%) in early May).

Rainfall from May 1 to July 31 was 2.24″ (with only 0.75 from May 1 to July 19).  There were 42 days over 90 degrees and 8 days over 100 degrees during that time.  All time record dry and heat was recorded in July, 2012 in the area.

Don took chlorophyll readings weekly (one week missed in July due to a family vacation).  He took 30 chlorophyll readings per plot per sampling date.  He also took multiple plant height readings each time as well.  He followed the manufacturers instructions on the chlorophyll readings and penetrometer tests.  Don spent a lot of time in this field so we could all have this data!  Thanks to The CISCO Companies for providing the seed, equipment, and Don’s labor to collect this data.

 

This chart shows the percentage above the no cover crop area (the “check”) compared to the different cover crop mixes. The two comparisons on the far right are from a soybean study we ran where we had cover crops two consecutive years compared to one year (more data and a post coming soon on this study).

Observations:

  • The plot areas that rated healthier (more green-ness and taller) yielded the best.
  • The plots areas where there was less compaction yielded the best
  • The plots with annual ryegrass did not fare as well as some others in this drought year – yet was still considerably above the check.
  • Not all plots with radish were “top” yielding – however two of the top three yielding plots had legumes plus radish.
  • Plots with legumes were generally healthier all season long and their yield reflected that.
  • I doubt that the whole field will average over 100 bushels/acre.  As with all hand yield tests they are estimates but I believe that the comparison is very accurate.
  • The Austrian Winter Peas, Crimson Clover, and Appin Turnips overwintered “beautifully” and were growing aggressively when sprayed at burndown.
  • There was a considerable amount of earthworm activity in the cover crop area but only a few earthworms were found in the “check” area. That is unfortunate because 2 acres were covered and 48 acres were not!
  • There were more corn roots in the plot areas we dug vs. the check area (watch for a new post coming on this soon).
  • There was more moisture in the soil where the cover crop plots were compared to the check area.
  • The soil structure was considerably better in each cover crop plot vs. the check area.
Don recorded over 180 chlorophyll readings in each cover crop plot and check plot over the summer.

 

The check plot had 175 units of nitrogen plus the whole field had been soybeans the previous year. While the annual ryegrass blend plot was above the check all season long it was not up to the desired level until after the July 19 rain event.

 

The plot with the Oats and Rye and Appin Turnips was impressive most of the spring and summer. It was at or above the desired rating until August. It was very impressive right after the July rain event and that is possibly why it had the second highest estimated yield. By the way, the turnips did live through the winter.
All season long I was convinced that the plot where the Austrian Winter Peas and Radish were was going to have the highest yield based on the data shown above (and plant height readings). It beat the second place entry by less than 1/2 bushel in the yield estimate.

Now Archived and available: Cover Crop Webinar: Securing Unused Nitrogen in a Drought Year

There are thousands of acres across the Midwest that have been hurt by the drought in 2012. There is also a significant amount of Nitrogen left in the soil after such a dry year. Cover crops can help sequester N and during the Webinar we will discuss how much N you might expect to secure.

The drought of 2012 has forced many Midwest growers to make the difficult decision to give up on the crop and prepare the land for next year. The consequence? Significant amounts of unused nitrogen remain in the soil.

Planting a cover crop makes it possible to secure nitrogen in the field, reduce runoff, and recycle some nitrogen for use next season.

The presenters of this webinar include:

  • Tom Kaspar – Plant Physiologist, USDA-ARS, National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment out of Ames, Iowa.
  • John Meisinger – Soil Scientist, Environmental Management and Byproduct Utilization Laboratory, USDA-ARS out of Beltsville, MD.
  • Dave Robison – Forage and Cover Crop Agronomist with Legacy Seeds.

If you’ve experienced drought on your farm this year, please consider viewing this informative webinar.

The archived webinar is available at http://www.croplife.com/register-video?forward=video/c:56/webinars/1304/

Cover Crop Survey

CTIC Cover Crop Survey – Get it done right away!

Chad Watts, CTIC Project Manager, asked me to help CTIC get a survey out for farmers using cover crops.

Chad writes:

The intent of the survey is to go out to only those folks who are using or have used cover crops, because the information in the survey is very specific to that intended audience. We will gladly accept either the electronic version or the paper version of the completed survey.

The paper version of the Cover Crops Survey 21-Jun-2012 can be returned to me using the address at the beginning of the survey. The link for the survey online is http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KPZCRWP.

Chad also relayed:

Respondents who complete the survey by July 20th and provide their e-mail address will be put into a drawing for a chance to win a gift card.