Learning about the benefits of planting cover crops.
Over the past few weeks I have heard from countless farmers in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, and Iowa that are considering taking prevented planting on all or parts of their farms. Growers Edge just published an excellent piece Prevented Planting Guidelines.
Also see my articles on Prevented Planting Row Crop Acres – Which Cover Crops Can Help? and Summer Annual Grasses for Cover Crops for Prevented Planting Acres that may also be helpful.
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 not. These cannot be harvested until November 1 if crop insurance is taken.
If producers do not take crop insurance then there are other options mentioned below that give greater forage quality and yield. However, many of these products are in very short supply. Please call your local seed supplier to check on availability.
I would recommend a non-BMR Sorghum Sudangrass at 10-12#/acre. These should retail at $1.10-1.15/#. This choice is less expensive per acre than most summer annual options. This product is in very, very short supply for 2013.
Other cover crop options include non-BMR Sudangrass, which should be planted at a minimum of 10-20#/acre and will retail for around $1.20/#. Choices here would include Piper and Monarch V, among others. Both of these products are in very short supply for 2013.
I would also consider Hybrid Pearl Millet. Seeding rate will be 7-10#/acre. Hybrid Pearl Millet is in exceptionally short supply for 2013.
Plant each of these options at ½ -1” deep. Apply at least 25-30# of nitrogen per acre so there will be some plant health. There is very low supply on all of these items. Farmers should mow to alleviate seed production. Mow periodically and leave 6-8” tall residual so there will be continued regrowth.
If the prevented planting acres will be used for forage production, consider the following (with crop insurance taken–harvested after Nov. 1):
Take the options above and increase the seeding rates as shown below:
If the prevented planting acres will be used for forage production, consider the following (no crop insurance taken – harvested throughout the summer):
Option #1 for livestock feed I’d recommend BMR Hybrid Sudangrass at 35#/acre. BMR Sudangrass is superior to non-BMR Sudangrass for grazing, animal production, haymaking, ensiling, etc. Plant 35-37#/acre. Retail cost is around $1.75-1.80/#.
This is truly a superior product for dairy, beef, and sheep operations. It is grown on many dairy and beef farms across the Midwest, Upper Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic states. These products are in exceptionally short supply in 2013.
Option #2 is BMR Sorghum X Sudangrass. Many BMR Sorghum X Sudangrass varieties yield well and are very high in quality. It is much more palatable than non-BMR products. IF it is for dairy, plant at 50#/acre. Retail cost is around $1.45-1.50/#. Supply is exceptionally limited in 2013.
Option #3 is Teffgrass. Teffgrass needs to be planted into an alfalfa-like seedbed at 1/8-1/4” deep. Seed it at 10-12#/acre. Retail cost is $3.00-$3.25/#. Supply is fair to good.
Option # 4 is Hybrid Pearl Millet planted at a higher seeding rate. For forage, plant at 12-15#/acre. Hybrid Pearl Millet is in exceptionally short supply for 2013.
See some of these products in OSU trials at:
http://oardc.osu.edu/forage2008/table15.asp and http://oardc.osu.edu/forage2009/table11.asp
Profitability for BMR Sorghum X Sudangrass and BMR Sudangrass products is generally higher than for non-BMR products. For instance, data on BMR Sudangrass has shown a 20% increase in animal production and therefore is considerably more profitable than non-BMR Sudangrass. In a year like this I’d guess that maximizing profit will be important! Be sure to use 75#/N (actual) for these products at planting time. Follow with additional nitrogen after each harvest.
You can e-mail me at dave@plantcovercrops.com for additional recommendations, or for locations of dealers where these products are available, or for other questions.
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.
I was in a meeting yesterday and the gentlemen from SWCD asked me:
“What should we recommend for our producers to plant as a cover crop after the wheat comes off?”
After running through a number of scenarios I determined that I’d better make sure I don’t confuse folks with too many ideas. So, here are a few scenarios that I hope you find useful.
If you want to scavenge Nitrogen and other nutrients, then a good choice would be Oats and Radishes mixed together. This mix generally should be planted at 1 1/2 bu Oats and 2-5# of Oilseed radish/acre. This mix also requires manure or around 40# N applied for it to be the ideal mix for this situation. This mixture will die in the winter and provide excellent winter annual weed control. Best planting time is Mid August…so you have plenty of time to get weeds killed and manure applied.
If you have livestock to feed, other great nutrient scavengers to plant after wheat are Sudangrass, Pearl Millet, or Sorghum-Sudangrass. These summer annual grasses require 100+# of N or equivalent manure. Tonnage of 4 1/2 tons Dry matter/acre have been common in northern Indiana following wheat the past three years. These grasses are excellent soil builders as well. Mycorrhizae fungus find the roots of these plants a very good place to multiply and build soil structure.
If you want to produce nitrogen and also scavenge nutrients as well, then an excellent choice will be Austrian Winter Peas mixed with Oilseed Radish . This mixture works very well without the addition of additional nitrogen. Count on the peas to deliver 60-120# of N and the oilseed radishes to keep most all of it in the top soil root zone. This mixture does a great job of controlling weeds. The radishes will die in the winter and the peas will “probably” die too…depending on your location, planting time of the mixture, and snow cover. If they overwinter they are easily killed in the spring.
If you are looking mainly for nitrogen production with a species that will winterkill, then choose cowpeas. The past few years cowpeas have been very expensive to plant. Be sure to check pricing and also be sure to inoculate the seed at planting time. Sow 60-100#/acre of cowpeas.
If you want the nitrogen production with a crop that will overwinter, then crimson clover is a top choice. Excellent new varieties have come on the market the past few years. Be sure to inoculate this seed as well. Sow 20-25#/acre of crimson clover.
There are several other options but these will certainly give you a good start in making selections.