Plant Cover Crops

Learning about the benefits of planting cover crops.

no-till

Cover Crop Field Day Set in Blooming Prairie, MN

PileDriver at Hagan Farms 2 33 days
This Radish was planted in late July 2013 and after 33 days has tremendous growth. This mix included oats and crimson clover and radishes.

Cover Crops will be the main topic of discussion on September 4, 2013 at a cover crop field day and meeting in Blooming Prairie, MN. I have the privilege of speaking at this event as we look at cover crops on prevented plant acres.  We will also look at what cover crops work best in the upper Midwest.  We will be on Brad Hagan’s family farm and possibly look at Dale Ramsey’s farm too.  Please note that we will be looking in root pits (where the action really is)!

I received this note from Legacy Seeds representative Andrew Heath about the field day/meeting:

“We  plan on structuring the event much like an open house with designated times where you will be able to address the crowd. We will start the event at 10 am and have you speak from 11 to 11:45 and again at 1 to 1:45. There will also be transportation to the cover crop plot and some of the field that you, TJ, Brad and I visited earlier with root pits dug. This will happen from 12 to 1 and 2 to 3.”

I have seen the plots and have added photos here on this post to entice you to come if you are in the region.

As a side note, Hagan farms will be no-tilling corn into these fields in 2014.  We’ll follow-up on these fields next spring and see how these fields compare to others that did not have a cover on them.

This prevent plant field had plenty of nitrogen from manure to capture. Hagan farms used a hybrid brassica and spring barley to secure the nitrogen and Berseem clover to produce more N and provide better soil health.
This prevent plant field had plenty of nitrogen from manure to capture. Hagan farms used a hybrid brassica and spring barley to secure the nitrogen and Berseem clover to produce more N and provide better soil health.

Part 2- Do Cover Crops Keep the Soil Colder in the Spring?

Fact or Fiction? Cover Crops that Survive the Winter Keep the Soil Colder in the Spring than Fall-Tilled Soil – Part 2

On Friday April 5, 2013 my brother Don recorded the temperatures in soils on our home farm near Greenwood, IN (central Indiana).  The previous week Don took soil temperatures coming out of a colder than normal March.  The results showed very similar temperatures in soils at approximately 4″ deep in fall tilled soil, long term no-till soil, and soil covered with an annual ryegrass cover crop.

April 2013 is off to a chilly start in central Indiana

The first week of April saw chilly day and nighttime temperatures in the area.  The average daytime temperature was 53.5 degrees (normal is 58.71 degrees) and the nighttime temperatures were 30.8 (average 38.29 degrees).  The soil temperatures gained a few degrees in each area.

Soil temperatures did increase during the week

While the soils are not warm enough to plant corn in yet they are getting closer.  No one in the area has started any planting yet but the soil temperature readings show that all of the soils tested are getting close to being warm enough to make sure the planter is ready and seed is in the shed ready to go to the fields.

Don’s observations

  • The long-term No-till area had the most surface soil moisture (not wet but definitely quite moist)
  • The fall tilled soil was crusted over and had cracks in the soil
  • The soil covered with Annual Ryegrass was not “wet” and it had no cracks in the soil
  • Don told me that he heard from Barry Fisher at a recent cover crop field day that soil biology starts becoming active at around 38 degrees soil temperature.  Each of the soils are well above that temperature.
  • During the next testing session Don will also be testing for soil moisture and taking some earthworm counts in each of the soils.

 

 

Soil temperature in the fall tilled soil 4-5-2013
Soil temperature in the fall tilled soil 4-5-2013
Soil Temperature in the long term no-till plot (check plot) 4-5-2013
Soil Temperature in the long term no-till plot (check plot) 4-5-2013
Soil temperature in the Annual Ryegrass cover crop plot 4-5-2013
Soil temperature in the Annual Ryegrass cover crop plot 4-5-2013

Cover Crops are Working in Iowa

Cover crops are working in Iowa!

While that may not mean much to my eastern corn belt friends it means a lot in Iowa and the upper Midwest.

Working with Sarah Carlson from Practical Farmers of Iowa and Tom Kaspar from ARS at Ames, Iowa, we’ve been attempting to identify what cover crops will be most compatible with common Iowa farming practices – in particular the use of longer season corn hybrids and soybean varieties, as well as an abundance of corn after corn (CAC) management strategies. Establishing cover crops like radishes and annual ryegrass into these situations hasn’t proved to be easy.

Aerial application of cover crops (annual ryegrass, crimson clover, radishes, etc.) into corn in Ohio and Indiana has been very successful. However, in Iowa it has not worked with quite as much success.  Cereal rye may actually be the best alternative. While it may seem a bit “simple” to plant mainly cereal rye most years, there are significant benefits to using cover crop rye in a corn after corn scenario, mainly because it has been shown to reduce Goss’s wilt.

September 5, 2011 planted Annual Ryegrass compared to Winter Cereal Rye in central Iowa in April 2012. Note the dramatic difference in winterhardiness.
September 5, 2011 planted Annual Ryegrass compared to Winter Cereal Rye in central Iowa in April 2012. Note the dramatic difference in winterhardiness even after a very mild winter.

Sarah commented that besides using more winterhardy species for greater success, it is also very important to not interseed the cover crops into green corn or green soybeans.  She says, “Pushing radishes with aerial seeding into a dense, dark corn or soybean canopy is unsuccessful.”

But if the right cover crop is used in Iowa and managed well then covers work very well!  Rod Swoboda from Wallaces Farmer published an article written by Sarah Carlson reflecting work that was overseen in Iowa by PFI.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cover Crop Root Pits Reveal Plenty

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.

What We Found in the Cover Crop Root Pits

We found several night crawlers and smaller worms as well in each pit we were in
  • Earthworms galore, especially where we had radishes and/or crimson clover. But the earthworms were plentiful in all cover crop species.
  • Earthworm channels 48″ deep in a field that had been long term no-till with one year of cover crop annual ryegrass/radish mix (planted after soybeans).
  • Roots from two different  crops in the same root zone/earthworm channel (soybeans and cover crop roots) over 30″ deep.
  • Earthworm eggs where radishes had decayed.
  • Soybean nodules 26″ deep on roots that went 44″ deep (long term no-till field – 10 years).
  • Annual ryegrass roots that were not as deep following corn as they were following soybeans (less N available for them to grow as vigorously).
  • Canola or oilseed rape in fields where bin run oats had been planted instead of seed oats.
  • Continued evidence of compaction. One year of cover crops does not eliminate all compaction issues (though roots from cover crops did penetrate through the compaction).
  • Radish and radish roots that were 34″ deep last fall were found at 40″ deep this spring (though dead).
  • Living radishes. Several radishes survived the Indiana winter (very mild winter), especially where they were protected by crimson clover and annual ryegrass.
  • 20 earthworm channels and 5 earthworms in an area 8″ by 8″ square at 6 inches deep (in a mixture of annual ryegrass, crimson clover, and cover crop radishes).
  • 700 acres of oats and radishes looking very different in the spring than it did in the fall!  (Click the links to see the different videos)

Miscellaneous Notes from the Cover Crop Root Pits

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!

 

Other than the "extra goodies" from the VNS oats, this field was ready to plant without herbicide in the spring.
We saw several fields where cattle were grazing cereal rye planted into corn stalks.
Cereal rye in one row and crimson clover and Appin turnips in the other row (mixed together).

 

One of the joys of working with farmers is the excitement I see on their faces when they "get it" about soil health. There were several excited farmers again this spring.
We found several earthworm eggs around the decayed radish holes.
We found roots from soybeans and annual ryegrass in the same root zone/earthworm channel.

Cover Crops Enhance Water Infiltration/Percolation

In late September of 2011 I was walking in our family corn field in central Indiana–in the pouring rain. Following the wettest spring in the eastern corn belt in 100 years we had a summertime drought that saw less than 2 inches in July and August combined. In that same time period we had 32 days above 90 degrees.

We just had 3 inches of rain yet my soil was dry at 1/2 inch in this area that had been tilled wet in the spring.

On this September day we were having rain…3 inches worth of glorious rain! I threw on my rain coat and Tingley boots, grabbed my shovel and went into the corn field where our cover crop plots had been planted in the fall of 2010 and killed in May 2011. As I walked through the field I noticed that where the soil had been tilled (see previous blog post) I was seeing dry soil underneath my boot track! Now catch the scene here…no rain for much of 60+ straight days…now a 3″ rain and virtually none of the moisture getting into the soil! Literally I had less than 1/2″ of the soil depth that was moist! Dry footprints followed me all the way to the end of the field. I was not happy.

When I reached the area where the cover crop test plot was (that area was not tilled this spring) I dug into the check area that was no-tilled yet did not have a cover crop. In that area I dug into the soil and I found moisture 2 1/2-3 inches deep. This area was now no-tilled for 23 straight years. That made me feel better.

Water was standing (or running off) of the soil that was tilled wet in the spring of 2011. There was very little infiltration from a 3 inch rain

 

In this photo we see infiltration at 2 1/2 - 3 inches deep. This soil has been no-tilled for 23 straight years.

 

Then I dug in the area that had been no-tilled for 23 straight years and had a cover crop the previous winter. I was very pleased when I dug in the areas where we previously had annual ryegrass and cereal rye and found moisture had filtered (penetrated) in 7 (seven) inches deep!

Water infiltrated 7 inches deep where we had corn no-tilled into cover crop rye.

 

 

 

This section of the field had a cereal rye cover crop in 2010-11 and was no-tilled. Note the lack of water standing on top of the soil! Where did the water go? Into the soil!

 

Watch these videos on what I found when digging for earthworms in this sections with cover crops and no-till and where there was tillage without a cover crop. I believe we have an additional answer to why I had so much better infiltration where I had the cover crops..earthworms and roots!

This "rogue" radish provided information that we had a compaction zone at about 3 inches deep in our no-till field; thus reducing water infiltration where we had no cover crop.

Yet, I wondered, why did the moisture stop at 2 1/2-3″ in the no-till plots? I found the answer from a rogue radish. We had a few radishes that came up in the field that had been planted in the fall of 2010 (the fall of 2010 was so dry that many of the radishes did not come up until very late…or not until spring, or in a few cases until mid-summer).  As I previously wrote, Radish does have some hard seed.  I dug around one of the radishes and found a constriction in the radish at 2 1/2-3″ deep! Even after 23 years of no-till I still had a compaction problem! I believe that is one reason why cover crops help producers to transition from conventional tillage to no-till…cover crops penetrate through compaction layers.