Plant Cover Crops

Learning about the benefits of planting cover crops.

Midwest Cover Crop Council

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.

 

 

 

 

Broadcast Recording Available from National Cover Crops Conference

Folks,
I was privileged to attend and also speak at this conference.  Please take some time to look in on the many awesome presentations that were presented in Omaha.  Dave
Broadcast Recording Available from National Cover Crops Conference

 

To meet some of today’s biggest challenges in agriculture, including rising food demand, a shrinking land base and climate change, farmers should be encouraged to adopt a holistic approach to enriching their most valuable resource – the soil – according to a panel of experts who helped open last week’s National Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health.

 

“Cover crops to me are just the next natural step in trying to have a broader system, and I think the single biggest issue we have as farmers in this country is we don’t farm with a system in mind,” said panelist Howard G. Buffett, a philanthropist and Illinois farmer.

 

To learn more, watch a recording of opening sessions from the National Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health, held Feb. 17 – 19 in Omaha, Neb. Joining the 300 farmers, scientists, and industry and government representatives who met in Omaha, approximately 6,000 others participated by gathering at more than 200 local soil health forums nationwide, where this recording was broadcasted live.

 

Also available online are presentations from breakout sessions and 10 short videos of innovative farmers describing their use of cover crops.

 

Conference organizers are developing a formal list of recommended actions to increase cover crop adoption based on discussions at the conference and local forums. To see it when it becomes available, keep an eye on www.sare.org/covercropsconference or join SARE’s mailing list.

 

The conference recording features a discussion of how cover crops can improve soil health and the major barriers to their increased adoption, and was led by Buffett and fellow panelists Jason Weller, chief of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Ray Gaesser, Iowa farmer and American Soybean Association president. Following them is a panel of farmers who are pioneers in the use of cover crops, no-till and other soil management practices.

 

Conference speakers addressed a wide range of ongoing challenges to cover crop adoption, including the need for more specialized seeding equipment, more advocacy by farmer leaders, more research on their economic benefits, and changes to insurance and conservation programs that better encourage their use.

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Cover Crops- It is Amazing how much interest there is these days!

It is amazing how much interest there is in cover cropping these days!

Sarah Carlson from Practical Farmers of Iowa and I were discussing this fact in Omaha, NE earlier this week.  To think that there would be a conference like we attended in Omaha was almost a “dream” when we were attending some of the first Midwest Cover Crop Council Meetings less than 10 years ago.  Many thanks to Eileen Kladivko, Dale Mutch, Dean Baas, Tom Kaspar, Anne Verhallen, Alan Sundermeier, and others who set the pace and path and vision for sharing and researching the benefits of cover cropping.

Dave Robison
I had the privilege of speaking to over 1,000 farmers at the National No-Till Conference in Springfield, IL in January 2014. Being a long-time no-tiller; this was a highlight of my career.

So, where am I these days?  (kind of like “Where’s Waldo?)  Over the past seven weeks I have  spoken in many states (NY, OH, WI, NE, MI, etc…) and at Ridgetown, Ontario.  I have spoken to well over 2,000 producers these past 50 days.  I keep telling my wife I’ll check in as often as possible and I try to keep the kids aware of where I am and where I am going (I use this as great geography lessons!).  The interest in cover cropping is astounding.  I am excited to see so many producers that are using cover crops are excited about what they are doing…I am 100% confident this is NOT a fad.

I have a few more cover crop meetings to add that you might find very interesting.

On March 5 at 10AM I am speaking at the Yahara Pride Farms 2014 Watershed-Wide Conference: Building on our Progress at  Lake Windsor Golf Club  4628 Golf Road, Windsor, WI 53598  For more information contact: rachel@yaharapridefarms.org; 608-255-6329 ;  www.yaharapridefarms.org.

Starting on March 6 the American Society of Agronomy is conducting a number of Cover Crop webinars.  The speakers on the presentations are among the “who’s-who” in cover cropping research and practice.  Please register and watch these free webinars!

On March 13 I will be speaking at the Bay County  Soil Conservation District’s Soil Health and Cover Crop Meeting in Pinconning, MI.  This meeting involves some excellent speakers on soil health and also on local cover crop research.

Also in Wisconsin I am speaking at three Legacy Seeds Cover Crop Seminars.  Please contact the folks at Legacy Seeds at karen@legacyseeds.com to preregister.  Registrations starts at 9:30 and the meetings start at 10 AM.  Early order “discounts” will be available.  Lunch will be served at each location.

March 18 at  Jakes Northwoods 1132 Angelo Rd. Sparta, WI  608-269-5010

March 19 at the Eagles Club 2588 hwy. 53 Chippewa Falls, WI 54729 715-723-0172

March 20 at  Cobblestone Creek Dining and Banquet Center 740 West Ryan St. Brillion, WI 54110 920-756-3214

On April 1 Winnebago Soil & Water Conservation District and AgTech are sponsoring a Cover Crop Workshop in Durand, IL.  I am honored to speak at this event.  There is an optional field tour after lunch.  Preregister by 3-25-14.

On May 9 There is a Soil Health Field Day – Sponsored by Catawba SWCD in Newton, North Carolina.  I will not be attending this meeting but it sure sounds like a great day!   Thanks to Russell Hedrick for passing this along.

Also, sometime in April – Robison Farms (my brother Don and I along with mom and dad) hope to host a field day at our Greenwood, IN farm where we have 5 acres of replicated cover crop research.  More details will follow soon on this.

These are exciting times in Agriculture.  Remember to be thankful for those who have come before us and for those who share their knowledge and vision with us.  More importantly share your vision and knowledge with others.  Most importantly, be thankful to the God of Creation who gives us the responsibility to care for His creation.

 

Dave

 

 

Cover Crop Meetings Scheduled February-March 2013

There are Cover Crop meetings and conferences going on across the country like never before.  Here is a list of those I am aware of that are coming up in February and March 2013.  Please look below in the comments section for several more meetings.

I will be speaking again this year at the MCCC Meeting in Ontario
I will be speaking again this year at the MCCC Meeting in Ontario

February 19         Cover Crops: How Your Soils Benefit TH Agri-Chemical, Kimberly, Wisconsin

February 20        Legacy Seeds, Inc – Cover Crop Meetings – Rochester, Minnesota

February 27        Cover Crops: Do They Make Me Money? Newton and Jasper Counties, IN

February 28-March 1  Midwest Cover Crop Council Annual Meeting, London, Ontario, Canada

March 5-6            Conservation Tillage Conference, Ada, Ohio

March 5 and 7     Reabe Spraying Services, Waupun, Wisconsin (Contact Damon Reabe for more              information at 920-324-3519)

March 6                Ag-Tech – Stockton, IL 10AM- NOON  Contact Shane Johnson at 815-947-3248 for more information

If you know of other cover crop meetings please add them in the comments section so all can see where else there are meetings!

 

Midwest Cover Crops Council Awarded at National No-till Conference

Below is an exciting announcement from Dr. Eileen Kladivko (Purdue) from the Midwest Cover Crops Council:

Fellow MCCC members,

The National No-Till Conference, held this past week in Indianapolis, awarded the MCCC with the No-Till Innovator Award for the Organization category!  Accepting the award on behalf of the MCCC and the Executive Committee, were Dale Mutch and Eileen Kladivko.  The beautiful framed print even included the farmer holding a copy of the Cover Crops pocket guide!  The print will be displayed somewhere at our MCCC “headquarters” at KBS, where Dale Mutch and colleagues will be able to enjoy it and use it as a focal point for discussions of what MCCC is doing and what we’d like to do in the future.

Thanks to Randall Reeder from Ohio State, for taking this photo and sharing it with us.

Remember, our next annual meeting is coming up soon!  Anne Verhallen will be sending details shortly, but the meeting is Thursday-Friday, Feb 28-March 1, in London, Ontario.  You’ll want to travel on Wed, for the full day of talks on Thursday, and then state/province reports and some discussions on Friday.  We’ll be done by 3pm on Friday March 1.

Midwest Cover Crop Council Award at 2013 National No-till Conference

Eileen J. Kladivko, Professor

Agronomy Dept., Lilly Hall, Purdue University

 

Congratulations MCCC!  This is an honor well deserved!

More Cover Crop Selection Tools Available

The Midwest Cover Crop Council (MCCC) has added different states and cropping systems to their useful cover crop selection tool.  This tool is a very helpful item that assists producers in choosing what cover crops can be used in their counties with their cropping systems and their choice of cover crop characteristics.

Most recently Michigan  State and the MCCC released a tool to help vegetable producers determine what cover crops will work best in their systems and for the attributes they desire.  As I understand it, there will soon be a similar tool for Wisconsin vegetable farmers.

The cover crop selector tool can be invaluable for producers wanting to make wise decisions in choosing the correct cover crops for their area.

Wisconsin row crop farmers do have a cover crop selector tool that has been added within the past few months.

If you are looking for an additional way to check out different cover crop species then click here.  And you can check on most of the common species used for cover crops in the Midwest by checking out the many blog posts on www.plantcovercrops.com.

Cover Crop Decision Making Tool – Now Online!

Folks,  

I feel like a proud papa!  Well sort of – maybe a proud brother.  Several people from Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan have worked countless hours to provide a Cover Crop Decision Making Tool. I was privileged to be a part of the Indiana and Ohio teams.  This tool will guide producers in making wise decisions on what cover crops can be used on their operation and when they should be planted.    

Below is some information about the Midwest Cover Crops Council taken from their site. 

About the MCCC   

The Cover Crop Decision Tool is a project of the MCCC. The MCCC is a diverse group from academia, production agriculture, non-governmental organizations, commodity interests, private sector, and representatives from federal and state agencies. The MCCC collaborates to promote the use of cover crops to address soil, water, air, and agricultural quality concerns in the Great Lakes and Mississippi river basins. MCCC member states/provinces include Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Manitoba, Ontario, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and North Dakota. Learn more about the MCCC at http://www.mccc.msu.edu.  

The following is some information (also taken from their site) about the cover crop tool itself: 

About the Cover Crop Decision Tool  

The Cover Crop Decision Tool is an initiative by the MCCC to consolidate cover crop
information by state to help farmers make cover crop selections at the county level.
Information for each state/province is developed by a team of cover crop experts including
university researchers, Extension educators, NRCS personnel, agriculture department
personnel, crop advisors, seed suppliers and farmers. The team reviewed and refined
information from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)
(http://www.sare.org) publication Managing Cover Crops Profitably, 3rd edition http://www.sare.org/publications/covercrops/covercrops.pdf)  to refine application within their state/province. The information and ratings contained in the Cover Crop Decision Tool is the team consensus based on literature, research results,  on-farm experience and practical knowledge.