In the last year, Penn State conducted tests on various nine cover crop species, including annual ryegrass, as well as eight mixtures. The tests took place on 374 plots through the state. Click here to see the power point presentation.
The advantages listed on annual ryegrass include:
low seed cost
vigorous root system
high forage quality (if needed)
The advantage [...]
Continue reading about Penn State’s Cover Crop Demonstrations - Annual Ryegrass Values
Mike Plumer, an agronomist with the University of Illinois began to recommend annual ryegrass over a decade ago, when he discovered its value as a nitrogen-scavenging cover crop.
“When a soybean plant dies, it immediately starts to degrade. If you get any rainfall on the residue or through the nodules, it’s going to leach nitrogen quickly.”
The [...]
Continue reading about Annual Ryegrass Scavenges Nitrogen from Old Crops - Gives it up to New Crops
Continuous No-Till and Cover Crops – Boosting Soil Organic Matter, Carbon, and Crop Yields
Since 1969, select farm plots at the University of Illinois have been in continuous no-till. In that time, the measure of organic matter has been boosted three-fold – from about 1 percent to 3.2 percent, without use of cover crops. In the [...]
Since 1969, select farm plots at the University of Illinois have been in continuous no-till. In that time, the measure of organic matter has been boosted three-fold – from about 1 percent to 3.2 percent, without cover crops, according to Mike Plumer, the natural resources management educator at the university Extension. He said that in [...]
The late harvest, combined with a wet fall, has made conventional tillage more difficult. Those risking tillage would probably add to compaction issues. But late harvest has also hampered planting cover crops this year. Here are a couple of things to consider, either for later this year or next summer.
1. Dormant seeding of annual ryegrass [...]
Continue reading about Wet Weather Reduces Tillage - Farmers Consider No-Till with Annual Ryegrass
The Virginia SWCD encourages plating cover crops as a means of capturing valuable nitrogen still present in crop stubble after harvest.
Cover crop payments in excess of $25 per acre are paid to farmers demonstrating a willingness to engage in this practice. They have a graduated, or incremental, payment plan based on what cover crop is [...]
Continue reading about Virginia SWCD Talks Cover Crop Incentives
