This was my first experience growing a pure stand of red clover. The main goal for the stand was nitrogen fixation for next year’s organic corn crop.
Benefits of a Pure Stand of Cover Crop Red Clover Read More »
The following was originally posted on May 27, 2011 when the Eastern Corn Belt was suffering with severe flooding and wet conditions. In 2013 the Upper Midwest – especially Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin – is flooded and wet. Many farmers are considering taking the crop insurance for prevented planting. Even if it would stop raining
Prevented Planting Row Crop Acres – Which Cover Crops Can Help? Read More »
With an abundance of prevented planting acres in Wisconsin and Minnesota in 2013, there is a need for cover crops to help build soil during the soil’s “idle” time. In this post I’ll mainly focus on summer annual grasses that work well in the Midwest. These recommendations will focus on whether feed is needed or
Summer Annual Grasses for Cover Crops for Prevented Planting Acres Read More »
This article was originally posted on December 14, 2010. Benefits of Mustard Mustards are a good cover crop for a variety of reasons. One of the main benefits is that they have high levels of glucosinolates. According to Cornell University: The practice of using mustard cover crops to manage soil-borne pathogens is known as biofumigation.
Mustard as a Cover Crop Read More »
I am blessed to hear from farmers around the world about their cover cropping adventures. One young man, Brian Scott, from Carroll County, Indiana has generously shared his information with me again this spring. This post is Brian’s report from early May, 2013. To see Brian’s photographs, click here. We dug a few pits in
Root Pit Reveals 40″ Cereal Rye Roots Read More »
Almost two years to the day I posted an article about Killing Tall Annual Ryegrass. The problem of a wet and chilly 2011 has resurfaced an ugly head to be a wet and COLD spring of 2013. But over the past week or so temperatures have warmed into the 70’s and 80’s with cover crop
Cover Crops: Buy One Year, Get Another Year Free Read More »
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
Do Cover Crops Keep the Soil Colder in the Spring? Read More »
Kura Clover is an interesting option for cover cropping no-till corn producers. Why? Because Kura Clover forms a “living mulch.” I have been working with Dr. Ken Albrecht from the University of Wisconsin-Madison on Kura Clover since the summer of 2000. During that summer as I traveled through eastern Iowa and NW Illinois I envisioned
Kura Clover – The Perennial Cover Crop Read More »