Learning about the benefits of planting cover crops.
On August 14, 2013 the University of Wisconsin is holding an Agronomy Field Day at the Marshfield Ag Research Station. The line-up of speakers looks outstanding and CEU credits are available for Certified Crop Advisers.
I will be speaking out at the cover crop plots looking at how we can use cover crops as forages and benefit the soil at the same time.
For past blog posts on using cover crops for forages looks here and here.
I appreciate Mike Baise from American Farmland Trust for sending me the document NRCS Cover Crop Termination Guidelines Non-Irrigated Cropland. The document was published June 2013 and should be very helpful to everyone using 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.
I took a new management position in May of 2012 with Wisconsin based Legacy Seeds, Inc.
While my main responsibility lies in working with alfalfa and forages I also was pleased to find out that there were several folks in Wisconsin that were using cover crops! Well, you would figure that I’d get involved more with cover crops in the Badger state, and I have.
In February 2012 I conducted two cover crops meetings in the Fox Lake, WI area with over 75 producers present. The purpose of these meetings were to teach farmers about how cover crops can work in their farming operations. I was very pleased with the outcome of those meetings as over 10,000 acres were planted on farms that were represented at those meetings.
In July I held three more cover crop meetings in Eau Claire, Waupaca, and Brillion, WI. All combined, there were over 150 farmers present and I’m confident that there were at least 30,000 acres of cover crops planted by those farmers.
While I don’t have figures of how many cover crops were planted in Wisconsin, I think there were as many as 250,000. Many of those acres were after wheat was harvested and a surprising number after corn and soybeans.
Feed was one reason so many acres were planted. The severe drought has created a forage shortage.
But many farmers planted their cover crops because they want healthier soils and better production. Still others planted because they want to hold onto the nutrients from their manure. Whatever the reason, cover cropping is alive and well in Wisconsin – and growing.
You can click on the pictures below to see a larger image of each.
Drought ’12 is causing many cattle producers to consider cover crops for fall and winter grazing. Hay is very expensive and in short supply, and corn silage will be short in many areas. A lack of feed is leaving a number of dairy and beef producers looking to liquidate their herds.
Two years ago I wrote about grazing cover crops in the winter. It highlights the value of oats, cereal rye, and turnips in combination. There is also an attached video included with that article.
See this post for video from this past winter.
Several producers have seen beef cattle gain up to 3.5#/head/ day when grazing cover crops over the winter.
Gene Schriefer an Ag/Ag Business agent from Iowa County Wisconsin has seen great results with grazing cover crops. Gene reports:
I just completed my third season of grazing seed salad cover crops on my own farm and have been working with several of our local dairy and beef graziers about incorporating this into their rotation. Thus far the lowest RFQ has been 220. I’ve done summer mixed, cool season mixes and summer and cool season mixes together. While initial livestock experience has been skeptical, once they get a taste, cattle (and sheep) cannot get enough and refuse to eat orchardgrass/red clover.
Utilization with break wires appears to be 90% or more (I’ll need to do a pre/post grazing residual measure). In 2009, the first year I stockpiled an August seeding into December waiting for snowfall. An 11″ snow storm hit us early in December and I released the cattle. They bury their heads under a foot of snow digging out the crop. So far we’re pretty bullish on covers for grazing and looking at doing more. Uniformly everyone (myself included) find the ground to be very mellow the following spring for seeding…
I’ve been encouraging dairies to try cover crops for summer and early fall to aid in managing manure applications.
Here are some additional options that may work in different situations and for different animals too.
In many areas it is getting late to plant these species (as of July 25). However, with good fertility, good moisture, and warm temperatures I have seen yields as high as seven tons of Dry Matter of BMR Sudangrass in the Thumb of Michigan when planted after wheat.
However, that included high fertility and excellent growing conditions. If it remains dry you should not plant these because you will run out of time to get adequate production. There are better options for shorter growing periods.
If a producer does not want to have their cover crop overwinter then Oats and Turnips are a great choice for fall and winter grazing. Plant 2 bu/acre of oats and add 5#/acre of Appin Turnips.
As you can see in the photo it is best to strip graze this mix to get the best results and the most feed. This mixture needs nitrogen and I’d recommend that you apply 50#/acre of actual N at planting time. This can be planted after wheat or after corn silage harvest in most regions.
This mix is for the producer that wants fall and spring feed. I have worked with this mixture since the early 2000’s with Ed Ballard (U of IL Extension). We measured yields as high as 5 tons DM/acre in the fall and an additional 2 tons/acre in the spring at the Dudley-Smith Farm near Pana, IL (Central IL). It was planted after a wheat crop was harvested.
Plant 1 bu/acre Cereal Rye + 1 1/2 bu/acre of Oats and 5#/acre of Appin Turnips.
Nick Saathoff from Northern Illinois had excellent success in the fall and winter of 2012 grazing. Nick planted 1 bu/acre of Cereal Rye and I believe 5 # cover crop radishes. Nick grazed the cows up to Christmas in northern Illinois and had more rye to graze in the spring. While radishes are not grazed quite as well as turnips they still work well in this grazing situation.
While this is not my favorite mixture, it is one that provides good quality feed, produces nitrogen, and is a very good cover crop. Why is it not my favorite? Cattle do not generally graze peas as well as they do other high quality forages (especially turnips). If growing conditions are good (not too hot and with good moisture), this mixture can crank out the yield!
I’d prefer that this mix is harvested but hey – grazing can sure work well for this too! Inoculate the peas and plant this mixture 1-2 inches deep to achieve the best stand.
These mixtures both can provide excellent grazing opportunities. Cattle will graze the crimson clover better than peas and very possibly will survive the winter in many regions for spring grazing (with or without the cereal rye). These mixes work well planted 1/2″deep – or plant the cereal grains 1-2″ deep and seed the crimson clover 1/4 to 1/2″ deep. For best fall grazing opportunities plant these in late July through mid-August in the Upper Midwest and into early September in the Corn Belt. Be sure to plant pre-inoculated crimson clover or inoculate the seed before planting.
This mixture can provide very good grazing opportunities where good moisture, moderate temperatures, and high fertility are present. This will be the highest forage quality of all of the mixes listed in this article. However, if it remains exceptionally hot and dry, this mixture will not be as productive as those previously mentioned. This mixture works best when strip grazed or rotationally grazed.
Harvesting cover crops for emergency fall forage may be able to play a major role in lessening the impact of the 2012 drought disaster for livestock producers. As I traveled from Indiana to eastern Iowa and through Wisconsin I saw dry ponds, cracked soil, nearly dead alfalfa, completely brown pastures, and an exceptionally poor corn crop.
I have received phone call after phone call from dairy and beef producers asking what cover crops they can use to provide food for their animals this fall and winter. Below I have listed a variety of choices that may work well for producers needing feed (if we get rain). By the way, these choices are also excellent cover crops.
Both of these would be choice 1-A and 1-B. However the producers in Texas have been experiencing drought for the past few years and seed supply is exceptionally tight. Choose BMR varieties if you can find them.
This is not a “sexy” choice but it is a very good option. Oats sown in July and August will out-produce all of the winter cereal grains if a fall harvest is desired. I have worked with Ed Ballard from the University of Illinois and Gary Wilson from Ohio State University Extension for a number of years on summer seeding Oats and found great success almost every year.
Stan Smith from OSU Extension is a real believer in summer seeding oats as seen in this excellent article. Seed the Oats at 2 bu/acre and fertilize with 50+ Units of N or manure equivalent. Spring Triticale will behave very similarly to Oats when summer seeded.
I really like this mix because it will be higher quality than plain oats. Plant the oats in the grain box and the crimson clover in the small seed box. Plant the oats at 2 bu/acre and the crimson clover at 5-8#/acre.
Nathan Anderson of Cherokee, Iowa (NW Iowa) planted this mixture in 2011 and had very good success. While taking one cutting for hay and grazing 2 times in the fall/winter, he showed a profit of nearly $140/acre in beef production (weight gain) and hay produced.
Make sure that the crimson clover is inoculated and do not plant the crimson clover more than 1/2″ deep.
Harvest the oats in the fall and the cereal rye in the spring. I’d look at 2 bu/acre oats and 1 -1/2 bu/acre on the cereal winter rye or triticale. Consider adding 5-8# of Crimson clover to this mix as well.
Plant a 50/50 mix of this combination for high quality fall forage. Be sure to inoculate the peas. Plant this mix 1 1/2 -2″ deep for best success.
Annual Ryegrass or Italian Ryegrass will not produce the tonnage that the spring cereal grains will. Ryegrass needs cooler temperatures, more moisture, and more fertility than the spring cereal grains need. The main benefit is that you can get a very high quality forage…just not a lot of it unless you have the moisture, cooler temps, and higher fertility. Maybe in the southern parts of the Midwest and further south this can be a good option. Italian Ryegrass will not grow as aggressively in the fall as Annual Ryegrass will.
Barley is a multipurpose cover crop that can be beneficial to hog, dairy, and beef producers. It is a wonderful grain to use for feed and it is harvested for grain in June. The haylage would be harvested in May with plenty of time to plant corn silage or Sudangrass. Spring Barley planted in July/August will act like Oats and spring Triticale. Winter Barley will act more like cereal rye or winter Triticale. Plant 2 bu/acre for grain production and 3 bu/acre for forage production. Use less N than you would with Wheat or Ryegrass.
During the first week of April I was in several root pits in northwest Indiana and boy did we find plenty of interesting factoids! I was assisted by Eileen Kladivko from Purdue University on one day and Barry Fisher, Indiana NRCS State Agronomist, on another day.
The farmer from our first cover crop root pit dig on April 4th reported that he saw less visible drought stress where they had long term no-till and cover crops, attributing the healthier plants to increased root depth.
We saw several fields of cereal rye after corn stalks being grazed by beef cattle.
Barry Fisher encouraged everyone to “expand your farm vertically.” In other words, don’t just keep buying/renting more land. Instead, put cover crop roots down deeper to create better land where you farm – and get more yield.
Be sure to control your annual ryegrass instead of waiting on the crimson clover to grow taller. Much of the ryegrass was 10-12″ tall with the crimson clover at 6-8″ tall.
Farmers are becoming more creative with cover crop applications and types, and they are finding success – not surprising!
In early December, 2011 I visited two farms in Kosciusko County Indiana (NE IN) where producers had intentionally planted cover crops after their wheat was harvested for the purpose of grazing cattle and improving soil. One of the producers planted a mixture that was featured in this blog. His Oats/Cereal Rye/Turnip mixture looked beautiful and it appears he will have more feed than he needs to get the cattle through December without feeding much hay! Only a severe ice storm or exceptionally wet soil would seem to prevent that from happening. Here is a video my wife and I took from this field.
Just down the road a different farmer planted a different mixture. His pastures were decimated by the summer drought and over grazing. Frankly I would not have recommended the mixture he planted…only because I was not sure how the cattle would graze cover crop radishes. His mixture was 3# Appin turnips and 3# of GroundHog cover crop radishes. That was all…When my new farmer friend drove me by the field I did not see the cattle…and even then I was noticing a lot of bare soil (the area between all of the brassicas) and was longing to see oats or some grass species out in the field with the brassicas. Then we found the gent that planted the field. He was ecstatic! The cattle were grazing both the turnips and radishes very well. His cattle had great body condition and his feed bill was way down. My only recommendation was that he feed dry hay to the cattle along with the brassicas so that they would not end up with some health issues (acidosis, foundering, etc…). Brassicas should not make up more than 30-35% of the diet for cattle and he was at over 80%. Watch a video from this field.
It is very important to include fiber in the diet of the cattle when grazing turnips and radishes. The forage quality of the brassica is too high for the cattle to have a healthy rumen. If the producer that planted only the brassicas had fed straw or lower quality dry grass hay the cattle would have been healthier. I believe that is why the cattle were eating so many bulbs…they needed more fiber.
In this cover crop post I again quote Paul Conway from Kansas, who is giving his input on cover crops in the Great Plains. In this article, Paul shares his experience with Austrian winter peas, field peas, chickling vetch, and hairy vetch.
Dave,
Austrian Winter Peas: I have limited and disappointing experience with Austrian Winter Peas. They always winter kill and they must be planted at an inconvenient time. It seems that the areas where they do well do not follow a simple geographical line. Austrian Winter Peas do very well about 60 miles south of me in central and southern Kansas. Ironically, they seem to do fine in the Nebraska panhandle, which is much colder than we are. I think consistent snow cover makes the difference.
Field Peas: also know as Canadian field peas or forage peas. I’ve grown these in early fall with oats and forage radish. I don’t know how much nitrogen they fix but they do winterkill by early winter – mine haven’t died yet – probably consistent lows in the middle teens will do it.
I also plant them in early spring the same time as oats, killing them for June planted cash crops. Mowing after flowering will effectively kill peas. Where peas shine is in mixes and in cool climates.
The pea/oat or pea/triticale is excellent for haylage or silage. These mixes have the same benefits for livestock farmers as the soybean/summer grass mixes.
In much of the Midwest and east, double cropping is possible, oat/peas followed by soybean/milo or sorghum-sudan. Further north, the oat/pea mixes would mature too late. In that regard, I think that field peas could be managed as a summer annual (like soybeans) in the Great Lakes states, upstate New York, Pennsylvania, and New England.
Peas can handle routine summer temperatures in the low-mid 80s. Peas can be grazed. Peas aren’t shade tolerant so they don’t do well when sown into row crops. Frankly outside the mixes I think the clovers may be more versatile.
Chickling Vetch: Also known as “AC Greenfix.” It will fix nitrogen faster both in the fall (it winterkills about the same time as the peas) and in the spring. AC Greenfix seed is more expensive and harder to plant due to it’s shape.
Hairy Vetch: As you know, hairy vetch is the strongest nitrogen fixer among the annuals. Hairy vetch easily fits into vegetable rotations. I have seen two foot vine growth and numerous fat nodules on vetch in early-mid April after a mildly wet fall and an early spring. It will be harder to fit into field crop rotations, especially corn-soybeans.
Here the optimum time to plant hairy vetch is September, but it can be planted as late as mid October. It needs minimal soil contact which isn’t a problem in a normal fall. A dry September/October, like I had this year, is a problem.
I know that you have some experience with flying in hairy vetch into maturing corn or soybeans. Another option is to plant it very late (mid-late November) and hope it doesn’t germinate until the soil warms up in late winter-early spring. I don’t think people realize how versatile hairy vetch can be. In the northern areas suited for field peas (see above) hairy vetch could be managed as a summer annual. [I have seen hairy vetch flower, drop seed which stays dormant during a hot dry summer – Dave’s EMPHASIS HERE – this is why I caution growers about Hairy Vetch.] When the weather cools down in late August the vetch seed sprouts. It is still warm then through September and early October with temperatures similiar to the Great Lakes states and New England in the summer. So why couldn’t vetch be planted in early summer in these areas?
Years ago I planted hairy vetch in April between wide rows of vegetables just to see what would happen. I remember lots of growth by July, despite a hot dry summer. The soil under the vetch was cool and moist. The vetch did not grow enough to fix much nitrogen by May but it may have fixed enough nitrogen for mid-summer planted crops.
In 2012 I will plant hairy vetch and other vetches (purple) in the spring and record how they do.
Finally, new cultivars of hairy vetch come out which may have promise. I will try a new variety called Purple Bounty, which is supposed to mature two weeks earlier but with less winter hardiness.
Over the past 9 years I have worked with Ed Ballard from the University of Illinois on grazing cattle over the winter.
During the first 4-5 years I was much more concerned about the “above ground” aspect of the cover crop and weight gain by the animals.
However, these past 4-5 years have shown me the dual benefit of this amazing plan. The mix I use is 1-1/2 to 2 bushel per acre of oats, 1 bushel of winter rye and 5# of Appin Turnips.
This mix works well flown into standing corn or drilled right after the corn harvest. I have attached a You Tube video to show the wonderful benefits cattle producers can get using this cover crop.
