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 [...]
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
Several commercial seed companies are now covering annual ryegrass seed with a natural polymer that allows the seed covering to hold moisture amounting to about 400 times the weight of the seed.
The obvious benefit: when annual ryegrass is applied as a cover crop - either late in summer as corn or soybean crops are nearing [...]
Finally warm enough - and dry enough - to get into the fields. Some farmers here in Central Illinois are late in spraying the cover crops, due to the incessant rainy conditions, and thus I’ve seen some “heading out” in the fields. Definitely, you want to burn that down before seeds develop. New this year, [...]
Continue reading about Planting Begins in Central Illinois - annual ryegrass burndown a tad late
· Burndown options – Plan on two burndown applications of Roundup, Touchdown, Paraquat, or Liberty. A second application may not be needed but always plan on two. Use full rate of herbicide along with extra surfactant and acidifier or ammonium sulfate as appropriate. Spraying in the morning may result in better translocation. Cool, cloudy [...]
Cameron Mills, a Walton, Indiana, farmer noticed one of the best benefits of a cover crop for him has been the increase of microorganisms in the soil - earthworms, bacteria and fungi that break down the stubble from last year’s corn or soybean crop. He’s been No-Tilling for about 11 years and began adding cover [...]
Continue reading about Annual Ryegrass improves microorganisms in soil
