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 or other cover crops this winter. If there’s no snow on the ground, wait until the ground freezes before broadcasting seed. With luck, the ground won’t thaw and freeze before spring. Thaw can trigger seed germination. Better that the seed lie dormant until spring thaw. The annual ryegrass will then take off, sending down roots a couple of feet while the top growth reaches a foot or more before May.
The problem with this scenario - you’ll not get the largest benefit from the cover crop if you kill it so as to plant corn. A better bet with dormant seeding is to allow it to grow until late April or early May, then plant soybeans.
2. Aerial seeding next year. In a “normal” year, planting annual ryegrass comes on the heels of corn or bean harvest. This year, many who wanted a cover crop seeded annual ryegrass by plane, flying it on while the corn and beans were still in the field.
“The aerial seeding worked well,” said Jamie Scott, an Indiana grower. He flew on 16,000 acres in annual ryegrass this fall. In fact, he offers a “turnkey” operation for area farmers, contracting for the seed, pilot and plane. Scott said he has a good stand of annual ryegrass, even though he’s still trying to get in the last of his corn harvest.
Tags: Aerial seeding, all cover crops, annual ryegrass as a cover crop, dormant seeding, Jamie Scott, ryegrass cover crop
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