Plant Cover Crops

Learning about the benefits of planting cover crops.

Winter Cereal Rye

Root Pit Reveals 40″ Cereal Rye Roots

Rye Pit

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 our field today that has about 40 acres of cereal rye and another 40 of annual ryegrass. The cereal rye had a pretty good stand, but the ryegrass didn’t do so well over the winter.  Looks like we may not be the only farm with that problem this year?

Anyway I was pretty excited for our first year cover cropping that we found cereal rye roots down to 40″ today!  And we hit the water table below that since everything is still relatively wet from all the rain.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see more roots if we could have dug down deeper.  That was on pretty good soil that used to have manure applied every year until about 7 years ago when we got out of the hog business.

The ryegrass was on ground with much more clay near the surface, but I was glad to see we had roots down 2 feet where we did get a decent stand.

Both covers were sprayed today.  I think I would have liked to keep the cereal rye a bit longer, but with rain in the forecast we didn’t want it getting out of control if we got soaked again and couldn’t spray.  These were all seeded into standing corn on 9/19/2012.  In all we had about 200 acres of cover this year and have plans to seed at least 400 in the fall!

Thanks Brian!  And to everyone who have been sending info…watch for it to be on the blog soon.  Thanks to all who are sharing their stories.

Cover Crops: Buy One Year, Get Another Year Free

Surprise! That's what our reaction was to the volunteer annual ryegrass growing in our fields nearly 18 months after they were sown.
Surprise! That’s what our reaction was to the volunteer annual ryegrass growing in our fields nearly 18 months after they were sown.

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 annual ryegrass and winter cereal rye having grown tall in some areas of the Midwest. Producers need to kill their cover crops as soon as possible to comply with RMA regulations.

What about the surprise cover crops?

In a previous post I wrote about dormant seed in cover crop species on our home farm.

I showed how radishes were present in soybean fields and how annual ryegrass was coming up even after there was residual herbicide and burndown herbicide applied.

Now here we are in the spring and we have a few new surprises.  Fall 2011 planted annual ryegrass and even fall planted winter cereal rye are now growing in the spring of 2013.  These cover crops were fully terminated in the spring and summer of 2012; there was effective weed control.  So dormant seed has germinated and now grown a full 15-18 months after it was seeded.  So yes, cover crops can become weeds.

(But remember, cover crops also suppress weeds.)

So what does this matter?

We have the benefit of a “thin” cover crop and we did not have to pay seed cost or application cost for the second year.  In our farming situation it is not a big deal.  We terminated all of our cover crops and weeds with a “hot” chemical mix.  It is a mix similar to what we used in our no-till fields prior to glyphosate coming on the market.  However, if we were growing wheat or oats or barley for grain and straw it could be a problem.  Thankfully there are now chemicals to use in cereal crops to eliminate annual ryegrass.  I hear reports that Jamie Scott from northern Indiana has seen excellent results with this practice.

We have less winter annual weeds where we have the “volunteer” cover crops and I’m confident our soil health is better where we have the cover crops.

What do we do now?

We enjoy the benefit that we have from the cover crop (even though it is a sparse stand) and we watch to make sure we do not have any cover crops coming back before harvest. The cover crops are now dead and a residual herbicide is applied.  Now we wait to plant the corn and soybeans and scout for any additional dormant seed to germinate and grow.  A clean harvest is important to all producers.  Our goal is to use the information from our own farm to make sure that farmers understand the rewards that cover crops bring and also the risk that comes with the reward.  The risk is not huge and it is manageable, but it is risk none-the-less.

 

This volunteer annual ryegrass was terminated before heading out but it was jointed and would have made a great forage plant.
This volunteer annual ryegrass was terminated before heading out but it was jointed and would have made a great forage crop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Volunteer Winter Cereal Rye was also growing in the old plot area. The cover crop was terminated well before the corn will be planted.
Volunteer Winter Cereal Rye was also growing in the old plot area. The cover crop was terminated well before the corn will be planted.

 

Cover Crops and Crop Insurance – Spring Reminders

UPDATE FROM RMA–Haying and Grazing of a Cover Crop – FINAL – 5-8-13

Cover Crops and Crop Insurance on Collision Course again?

Cover Crops and Crop Insurance issues seem to be heading to a collision course again this spring in much of the Midwest.  In the Corn Belt wet fields have prevented planting with less than 10% of the corn planted by May 5 across the major corn producing states.  In the Upper Midwest and even into Oklahoma and Arkansas 2-19″ of snow fell the first week of May.  Dairy farmers are desperate for forage and up to 75% of the alfalfa in Wisconsin and Minnesota winterkilled.  Many of those dairy farmers planted cover crop Winter Cereal Rye with hopes of harvesting Ryelage this spring to get some emergency feed after the devastating drought of 2012.

The cold, wet spring of 2013 is causing problems

But the cold wet spring (coldest on record in USA since 1975) may have farmers in a pinch with RMA again despite the Special Provisions for cover crops to the common crop insurance policy for the 2013 cropping year.  As of May 8, 2013 the Rye is only around 10″ tall in most of Wisconsin…certainly not ready for harvest by the May 10 RMA cut-off for harvesting and still attaining crop insurance.  Even in Indiana the cover crops are ‘exploding” into head after an exceptionally slow start to spring.  The fact that these fields are not full of winter annuals that are headed out like neighboring fields should be applauded…so should fields with cover crops be penalized?  It appears that farmers in the Upper Midwest have to choose between feed and crop insurance.  In much of the Corn Belt the fields are still plenty wet.  It is interesting that in some states the fields full of weeds qualify for crop insurance…yet fields with cover crops that have seed heads (instead of weeds with seed heads) do not qualify for cover crops.  Go figure.

Please check with your crop insurance agent to see what regulations apply to you.

 

This field of Winter Cereal rye grew tremendously in very late April and early May. Now it is headed out. Doed this field qualify for crop insurance?
This field of Winter Cereal rye grew tremendously in very late April and early May. Now it is headed out. Does this field qualify for crop insurance?

Should farmers be penalized in a wet and cold year for growing a cover crop instead of having a field of winter annual weeds? Common sense says that a cover crop is better for agriculture than weeds.

Should farmers be penalized in a wet and cold year for growing a cover crop instead of having a field of winter annual weeds?  Common sense says that a cover crop is better for agriculture than weeds.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fertilizing Cover Crops & Planting Legumes After Soybeans

If you spend any time at all in cover crop meetings, you may have heard that it’s a good idea to add 20-50# of Nitrogen per acre to your cover crop – if you don’t have a legume in the mix or you don’t have manure available. You also probably heard (or participated in) the grumbling that predictably starts from the crowd. Who wants to fertilize a crop that they will not harvest?

While it’s true that producers will not “harvest” the cover crops, they will have healthier cover crops which should lead to healthier soils and healthier profits.

Manure as the No-Brainer

Obviously if manure is available it is a smart move to put manure where you will have or already have cover crops.  We know from research that cover crops can hold as much as 90% of the nutrients from manure applications.

We have also know that where manure is applied without a cover crop being present (even if worked in) we can lose a significant amount of nutrients into ground water or as surface run-off.

What About Adding Commercial Fertilizer?

The Radishes on the left had manure applied and those on the right did not have any additional nitrogen applied.
The Radishes on the left had manure applied and those on the right did not have any additional nitrogen applied.

But, what if there is no manure to apply and for some reason you do not want to include a legume in your system?

Is it worth applying 50# of nitrogen to produce a cover crop?

Let’s look at what we think we know:

  • Pages 22-24 of Managing Cover Crops Profitably provide formulas to figure out the value of using cover crops as a green manure in a cover crop system –  whether with legumes, manure, or fertilized.

Look especially at the section on “Potential losses” to see that there can be nitrogen losses even in this scenario.

  • Cover crop experts say to count on 50% of the N captured or N produced by a cover crop to be available to the next cash crop.
  • It appears that adding a grass with legumes or brassicas will help “slow down” the release of the N in the spring making it more slowly released to the next crop.

 

Here is a photo of the Ingham County Michigan Cover Crop Plot. Where there was a legume in the mixture there was considerably more growth and earthworm activity
Here is a photo of the Ingham County Michigan Cover Crop Plot. Where there was a legume in the mixture there was considerably more growth and earthworm activity

What can we expect if we plant a cover crop and we don’t add more nitrogen?

How will that cover crop do?

I will utilize work that Dan Hudson did when he was an Extension educator in Ingham County Michigan in cover crop plots he planted back three or four years ago.

  • Radish tubers are considerably smaller and the roots appear to not be as deep  (I have not dug a root pit in this scenario).
  • Grasses have a more shallow root system in forage settings when fertility is lacking.
  • The cover crops were pale green.
  • The “hungry” grass cover crops had less earthworm activity than in the grass + legume mix plots.
  • “Hungry” radishes and turnips had much less tuber and top growth, thus sequestering less nutrients (one of their main functions).
  • Winterhardiness on cover crops is potentially not as good when the cover crop is undernourished.

What can we expect after soybeans?

Do we need a legume in the cover crop mix following the beans or is having a grass and/or brassica to sequester the N from the soybeans good enough?

Let’s investigate the difference between adding a legume to a cover crop mix following soybeans compared to planting scavengers only.  The charts are from our family farm trials.  The charts show the chlorophyll readings of the corn in the year following the soybeans (and then following a cover crop).

It is important to look at the “Y” axis as each chart is slightly different in how it shows the top reading.

When Austrian Winter Peas were added to a scavenger (Radishes) the chlorophyll readings were very favorable compared to the no cover crop check plot and plots with just scavengers.
When Austrian Winter Peas were added to a scavenger (Radishes) the chlorophyll readings were very favorable compared to the no cover crop check plot and plots with just scavengers.
Just like the peas gave us an advantage over the no cover crop check the crimson clover showed very favorably.
Just like the peas gave us an advantage over the no cover crop check  and scavengers, the crimson clover also showed very favorably.

 

While the Oats and Radish showed exceptionally favorable in the early part of the season the plot are "ran out of gas" as the corn was pollinating.
While the Oats and Radish showed exceptionally favorable in the early part of the season the plot “ran out of gas” as the season progressed.
Straight Winter Cereal Rye was impressive early season but also did not fare as well against the check as the mixes with legumes
Straight Winter Cereal Rye was impressive early season but also did not fare as well against the check as the mixes with legumes.

As we looked at the yield of the corn in these plots we saw a considerable difference – suggesting that even after soybeans we might want to add a legume to improve the corn yield the following year.

Yields from the different cover crop plots shown above were:

Check Plot                                    105.24 bu/ac

Winter Cereal Rye                      126.86 bu/ac

Oats and Radish                          138.79 bu/ac

Crimson Clover + Radish           153.99 bu/ac

AW Peas + Radish                        164.82 bu/ac

Conclusion

All indicators seem to point that adding manure, a legume, or additional N might very well pay off when planting a cover crop, even after soybeans.  However, adding a nitrogen source is not necessarily vital to having a successful cover crop system.  I would suggest that you try different scenarios on your own farm and in your own system and see what works best for you.

Cover Cropping North of I-80 After Corn & Soybeans – A Whole New World?

There is a lot of Iowa and Minnesota and Wisconsin above I-80. Is this all part of the “no cover crops works here after corn and soybeans” zone? Maybe not!

Sarah Carlson from Practical Farmers of Iowa reminded me that cover cropping north of I-80 is different than cover cropping in northern Indiana.  She’s right.  But how different is it, and why is it different?

Sarah is quoted in a very good article in Corn and Soybean Digest that helps explain the differences.

Several farmers in Wisconsin and northern Illinois are having cover crops aerial applied with good success. But I agree with Sarah; there are still challenges.

Cover Crop Challenges in the North

This field of Annual Ryegrass is in SE Wisconsin and was aerial applied into standing corn in the fall of 2011 with great success.

I see the following challenges to using cover crops North of I-80 after corn and soybeans:

  • Shorter growing season after corn and soybean harvest
  • The use of “full season” (for the region) soybean varieties and corn hybrids to maximize yield potential
  • Fear using winter cereal rye (their best option after corn and beans) because of potential risks
  • Fewer choices for cover crop species to use
  • Harsh winters and less snowfall to protect smaller cover crop plants

Cover Crop Opportunities in the North

  • More aerial applicators successfully flying on cover crops into standing corn and soybeans
  • Improved yields following winter cereal rye, a crop that can be planted late
  • High yields and profit with shorter season corn allowing timely application of cover crops
  • Annual Ryegrass is working well in southern Wisconsin and southern Michigan and there are many positive results from using it.
  • Dixie Crimson Clover has a good history of surviving the winter even in mid-Michigan and southern Wisconsin.
  • Late planted Austrian Winter Peas are overwintering as far north as the top of the Thumb of Michigan.
  • Winter Barley (winter hardy varieties) is surviving well in southern to mid-Wisconsin and in southern Minnesota and used for a cover crop or haylage before planting corn silage.

While not every producer North of I-80 will have success with cover crops after corn and soybeans, there are a number now that are happy with their results.

My message is to use wisdom and best management practices.

IF you want to try cover crops after corn and soybeans and you are north of I-80, realize that you are not the first person to try it.  Many have gone before you with good results.

Don’t give up before you investigate the possibilities.

Now, if you are north of I-90…

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.

Cover Crop Field Day Set at Robison Farms

CISCO Seeds, Robison Farms, and Dougherty Fertilizer are sponsoring a Cover Crop Field Day and Root Dig at the Greenwood, Indiana farm. If you’ve not had an opportunity to see cover crops in a real life farm setting, this will be a great meeting for you . There will be multiple species available to look at and expert agronomists on hand to answer questions.

 

When:

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 from 2-4 P.M.

Location:

Corner of Five Point Road (300 East) and Main Street (Rocklane Road) east of Greenwood, IN

Contact:

If you have questions or need further information contact  Don Robison at donrobison@ciscoseeds.com or 317-357-7013

  • Rain or shine we will have a gathering (call if the weather is bad for “plan B”)

 

Cover Crop Field Day Highlights

Come see ten different mixes and/or species of cover crops in a large plot setting.
  • 1100’ lineal feet of cover crop plots
  • 10 different mixes or straight species shown
  • guaranteed weather! (not saying what kind)
  • working with NRCS, SWCD, and Dougherty Fertilizer
  • root digs (weather contingent)
  • Cover Crop Agronomists on hand for tours and Q/A sessions
  • See over 150 acres of various Cover Crops withing 1/2 mile of plots

 

Purpose of the cover crop field day

To see different species of cover crops in a real to life situation. This was a soybean field that had the cover crops applied over the top of the standing crop at roughly 50% leaf drop.

 

Species You Will See

 

  • Radishes
  • Turnips
  • Crimson Clover
  • Oats
  • Winter Rye
  • Annual Ryegrass
  • Austrian Winter Peas
  • Several Mixes including the above species

 

 

 

Directions:

From Indianapolis

  • Take I-65 South to Exit 99. Turn Left at end of ramp and travel 1.5 miles east to the plots

From Louisville

  • Take I-65 North to Exit 99. Turn Right at end of ramp and travel 1.5 miles east to the plots

From Columbus, OH

  • Take I-70 West to Indianapolis, follow 465 South to I-65 South to Exit 99. Turn Left at end of ramp and travel 1.5 miles east to the plots

From Terre Haute

  • Take I-70 East to Indianapolis, follow 465 South to I-65 South to Exit 99. Turn Left at end of ramp and travel 1.5 miles east to the plots

 

Just down the road we plan on digging another pit where Annual Ryegrass and Appin Turnips were applied after hog manure was knifed in after wheat.

Cover Crop Cereal Rye: Is there a (bad) connection with Goss’s Wilt in corn?

Goss's Wilt is becoming quite a problem in the US Corn Belt.

Cover crop cereal rye has been getting some “bad press” over the past month. It has been suggested that there is a connection with cover crop rye and Goss’s Wilt in corn (cereal rye making the Goss’s Wilt disease worse in corn).

I have talked to a few agronomists who had never heard of cover crop rye being a host for Goss’s Wilt, so I did my normal Google search to see what I could find out.

Some corn hybrids ARE susceptible to Goss’s Wilt. Some have greater levels of resistance.  Here is a publication from The University of Nebraska that shows the severity of Goss’s Wilt.  This disease is a real problem in the Corn Belt and there are many frustrated farmers that have Goss’s Wilt on their corn.

I also discovered that cereal rye is more of a deterrent to Goss’s Wilt, rather than a “cause.”  By using cereal grains in between corn crops the Goss’s Wilt bacterium population is greatly reduced.  Cereal rye is actually an excellent choice for a cover crop to help reduce the risk of Goss’s Wilt.

To reduce Goss’s Wilt it would be wise to consider the following steps:

  • use resistant corn hybrids
  • use a cover crop between continuous corn crops
  • control foxtail, barnyardgrass, shattercane, and other known hosts
  • rotate to soybeans, dry beans, alfalfa, small grains, or other non-host crops

For an excellent article on this topic by Sarah Carlson at Practical Farmers of Iowa, click here. You can reach Sarah at sarah@practicalfarmers.org

 

 

 

 

Photo Diary – Soybeans planted into a Cereal Rye cover crop – part 3

My cover cropping and no-till friend Dave from Central Indiana has allowed us to look in at his farming operation this year. (Did you notice I have friends named Dave who plant cover crops?) –  In previous posts Dave has shared about his no-till planting and spraying soybeans into cover crop cereal rye and later he shared about the progress the beans were making in the rye cover crop.  Dave has a knack for photography and farming and I greatly appreciate that Dave is willing to share his thoughts and experiences with all of us. Below is the note Dave sent me about his cover crops and his no-till soybeans. (I am using this with Dave’s permission).

 

I thought it would be a good idea to snap some final pictures of the soybeans behind my house that were no-tilled into Cereal Rye before we harvested them. It has been very exciting to watch this on-going experiment this season. I am optimistic that this field will yield very well. Since the last photos that I sent you in early July, I foliar fed the field on July 29th, but never had to go back in to spray with Roundup for weed control since the burndown application I made six days after planting. There are a very few random weeds in the field, but nothing of any significance. One negative observation with this field has been that the soybeans got very tall and thus have lodged in some of the darker ground. I planted them at 180,000 seeds / acre in 15″ rows not knowing how they would emerge through that heavy cereal rye cover. Next year I will likely use this same cereal rye cover strategy ahead of soybeans on a much larger scale but will probably back the planting population back to around 120,000 – 135,000 seeds / acre. I also might consider, depending upon the growing season, using Cobra Herbicide at a late vegetative stage to help control the soybean height and also trigger an immune response to help against White Mold. I could see White Mold being a potential problem with this system because of the very heavy residue cover not allowing enough air movement into the canopy. I will probably try to harvest this field next week sometime.

I asked Dave if he saw white mold this year and he replied “I didn’t see a white mold issue this year because the weather turned off very hot and dry. I think if we have average temperatures and average or above average moisture during a growing season, white mold could be a possible problem with this system.”

Now for the photos that Dave sent…

Beautiful soybeans, weed-free, no-till planted into a cereal rye cover crop
These soybeans planted into a rye cover crop are clean and heavily podded on Dave’s farm in a year that has been hot and dry after a wet, cold spring.

The soybeans are lodging a bit in the darker soils but over-all this field looks awesome!

I was speaking at a cover crop meeting this past summer at Purdue University and I mentioned Dave and this “trial” he was doing and a gentleman came up to me after the meeting and he told me he knew Dave.  He told me that Dave is “the best” farmer he has ever met!  It’s obvious that Dave is an “elite” farmer!