The Midwest Cover Crop Council’s conference last week - where 120 people from 13 states came to talk about cover crops - is the latest indication of the growing excitement in reducing conventional tillage in favor of no-till and cover crops. Cover crops save money (in fact, there are financial incentives available) and boost crop productivity by improving soil health. If there is a downside to this, it is only that growers must change their management practices to make it work well.
While many of the attendees were large scale farmers, others were not. Some, including Iowa farmer Gary Guthrie, have converted acreage from corn and soybeans to a garden that supplies a Community Supported Agriculture operation. Here’s what he said about the value of cover crops.
“When I started farming in 1998, I could not have imagined how productive my soil could be,” he says. “Cover crops have been the key to soil building, and disease and weed control.”
In eight Midwest states, a Mississippi River Basin Initiative has received $320 million to reverse the impacts of farming and industry on that river and the Gulf of Mexico. Cover crops will be part of the collaborative effort to make those changes sooner than later.
In Indiana, my partner Hans Kok and I are in the midst of developing an on-farm network of growers agreeing to use cover crops. Among those most popular is annual ryegrass, which is inexpensive to grow, has vast and deep roots, and sequesters nitrogen for use by other crops. Iowa has had a very successful statewide network of such farms, in which 500 growers conducted repeated trials with different cover crops to determine what was best for them.
And as a resource for us all, the Midwest Cover Crop Council has developed a web-based cover crop decision tool for those considering cover crops. By entering specific data about your land, cash crop, desired cover crop and other information, the user will get back instruction what cover crop, planting times and other such things will be most advisable.
Tags: Annual ryegrass, cover crop, deep rooting, Midwest Cover Crop Council, No-Till, No-Till corn and soybean, No-Till farming, ryegrass cover crop, sequesters available nitrogen, soil health
June 1st, 2010 at 5:35 pm
I was wondering if a person could go with continuous corn or beans if they planted ryegrass in the fall every year after harvest? Would the ryegrass be considered adaquate rotation?
June 2nd, 2010 at 2:19 pm
Adding a cover crop like annual ryegrass after corn or soybeans is a good way to “expand” the crop rotation and keep something growing every day possible (which helps improve soil quality and provides additional diversity to the crop rotation.
Doug,
I am not sure what definition you are referring to as “adequate rotation”. If you are referring to the NRCS definition for EQIP cost share assistance, the NRCS definition for conservation crop rotation varies from state to state. Some states use no back –to back low residue crops (soybeans) without a cover crop. Other states do allow continuous corn. I suggest you talk to your local Conservation office to see what their definition of conservation crop rotation is.