Plant Cover Crops

Learning about the benefits of planting cover crops.

producing nitrogen with cover crops

Cover Crops in Wisconsin – Full Speed Ahead!

This cover crop field was ready for harvest in late September 2012.

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.

Wisconsin Cover Crop Meetings

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.

Cover Crops for Forage & Manure Management

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.

The Oats, Appin Turnip and Cowpea combination should make excellent haylage for the Wisconsin dairy market.
The nodules on the Austrian Winter Peas were multiple and large. This field will be planted to corn next year and it sure appears that a good amount of nitrogen will be in the soil and available for that corn crop.
This field of Austrian Winter Peas and Radish east of Green Bay, WI was planted after wheat in severe drought conditions. Thankfully some later rains came to get the mixture up and going.

Inoculating Cover Crop Legumes Pays Off

Several farmers have asked me why they need to spend an “extra” 4-6 cents per pound to inoculate the legume seed they are planting for producing nitrogen with their cover crops.  I get asked this especially about Austrian Winter Peas and Cowpea.

However, if you are planting Crimson Clover, Berseem Clover, Kura Clover, Alsike, Hairy Vetch, Sunn Hemp, or Medium Red Clover it’s just as important inoculate!  Why?  I’ll list a few reasons below:Inoculated peas are significantly better at producing nitrogen

  • Legumes are planted as cover crops most specifically to produce nitrogen.
  • Legume seed is relatively expensive; if it does NOT produce nitrogen, then it is exceptionally expensive.
  • The inoculant is a species specific bacteria that allows that plant to fix nitrogen.  If there are not enough bacteria there is limited nitrogen production from the legume plants.
  • A healthy legume cover crop can produce nearly 200 units of nitrogen
  • Even if you have produced a similar crop in your field within a two year time period, it still pays to inoculate each year since many of the bacteria prove to be “weak” and unable to perform like a healthy and vigorous bacteria.
  • If inoculating Peas or Cowpea you will need to do a “seedbox” treatment.  There are not yet inoculants that can be pre-applied that will allow you to have healthy bacteria. Therefore, most inoculant companies suggest putting the inoculant on within hours of putting the seed in the ground.

Be sure to get very good coverage on all of the seeds.

Do not hurry. Each seed needs coverage to actually be inoculated. I know that sounds silly, but I have seen many fields and plots where only some of the pea or vetch  plants were performing well.  The ones that looked poor had no nodules.

Many companies sell pre-inoculated clover seed.  If yours does not, then either find another supplier or purchase the correct inoculant from your current seed supplier.  Do not waste a great opportunity to produce as much nitrogen as possible. It is  less expensive to produce nitrogen than it is to purchase it.

A well inoculate Austrian Winter Pea nodule will be pink inside like the one above.
This photo shows a mixture of well inoculated and poorly inoculated Austrian Winter Pea plants. It is important to inoculate each seed with the nitrogen fixing bacteria.