101 Tips for Making Cover Crops Workand Practical Steps to Soil Health
Dan Perkins: Certified Crop AdvisorWatershed and Conservation Program Specialist
www.jaspercountyswcd.org
JCSWCD “Cover Crop Guy” You tube Channel
www.perkinsgoodearthfarm.com
Perkins’ Good Earth FarmEstablished 2009www.perkinsgoodearthfarm.com
I am currently a _____.
1. Full time Farmer2. Part-time Farmer3. Landowner4. Gardner
Farm
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Retired Fa
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Landowner
Non-farm
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Ag Retai
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I consider my soil to be in . . .
1. Excellent Health2. Good Health3. O.K. Health4. Poor Health
Excelle
nt Health
Good Health
O.K. Health
Poor Health
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Today
• Soil Health• Tips to attain Soil Health• Cover Crop Successes• Cover Crops Options in Various Crop Systems• On-Farm Research
– Nitrogen and Compost Research Update
• Resources
Soil Health: What is It?
The continued capacity of the soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans
SoilHealth
Chemical
Biological
Physical
Biological
What does healthy soil look like?
Soil should . . .Soil is a living system. It should:1. Look = dark, crumbly, and porous, and full of
bugs2. Smell = sweet and earthy “Scent of geosmin”3. Feel alive = soft, moist, and crumbly.
Dig a Little. Learn a Lot
4 Key Principles. . .
To improve soil health:1. Till the soil as little as possible2. Grow as many different species of plants
1. Through rotation2. Diverse mixtures of cover crops
3. Keep living plants in the soil as long as possible4. Keep the soil surface covered with residue
Soil organic matter (SOM) is <6% of soil by weight but controls >90% of the function
SOM is mostly negatively charged, but binds both cations and anions
Slide by Kris Nichols: USDA ARS Lab ND.
Slide by Kris Nichols: USDA ARS Lab ND.
Organic Matter Facts:20-30#/N per 1% OM is released to crop on average in a crop
year:– but higher OM soils release much more. . .
What has been happening to rain events recently? Hot weather?Every increase in 1% OM = 3.2 times water can be held• Each 1% of OM = 0.3 to 1 inch rain in July and August! (12)
• Technical terms = 1 % increase in OM =13,577 gal/acre of water
• To grow more food it will take 4-5+ more inches of rain. • Where is that going to come from?
$$ of Organic Matter
Value of 1% of OM = $750Assumptions• 2,000,000 lbs. soil in top 6 inches.• 1% organic matter = 20,000 lbs.Nutrients• Nitrogen: 1,000 lbs X 60 cents/lb. N = $600• Phosphorus: 100 lbs. X 50 cents/lbs. P = $50• Potassium: 100 lbs x 50 cents/ lbs. K = $50• Sulfur: 100 lbs x 50 cents/ lbs. S = $50How can you make sure these nutrients are available
to your cash crop?
Disrupted Soil Ecosystem
This soil is naked, hungry, thirsty and running a fever!
Ray Archuleta 2007
IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME!
• FOOD (quality and quantity of roots and residue)
• Habitat (physical and chemical environment)
An acre of healthy soil has the equivalent of two cows worth of microorganisms living in it. (Illustration by Eve Stika)
To Build Organic Matter We need to Feed the Heard
I have used cover crop within last 5 years.
1. True2. False
TrueFa
lse
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I am planning to use cover crop in 2015.
1. True2. False
TrueFa
lse
0%0%
What is your barrier to using cover crops on your farm?
(top 2)
1. 2. 3. 4.
25% 25%25%25%1. Too much time involved
2. Too costly3. Do not have a
runoff problem
4. Do not know enough about them
Fall 2014
Why use cover crops?• Can improve productivity and profitability• “Close the nutrient loop”
– Rotation of both leguminous and non leguminous cover crops
• Protect against soil erosion• Build active and stable organic matter• Improve soil tilth• Water infiltration and holding• Fracturing of hardpans• Weed and disease suppression• Reduce inputs . . . .• Mimic the “old fence row” effect.
Do cover crops pay. . . $20-45/acre to seed cover crop
Do cover crops pay?(No-till and cover crops system)
Assume 1% OM = $7501% every 6 years.
0.16 % gain each year$120 nutrients/acre yearly
Think long run . . . Yield increase, risk reduction, protecting environment . .
Cover crops are multi-functional
Cover Crops
Adapted from Magdoff and Weil (2004)Slide Dr. Gruver: WIU
Which solution would you use ?
Video
Soil compaction in systems is a Biological Problem!
Soil Compaction = Lack of Living Roots
(Slide by Hoorman OSE)
Cover Crop Selection• What is your goal? Problem or Use.• Identify the best place and time
– Main Crop, Companion Crop, Catch Crop, Off-Season• Winter fallow• Over seeding, inter-seeding• Summer fallow niche• Small grain niche (frost seed)
• Find your window of opportunity in your system• Select best cover crop or mix:
– Warm or cool season– Broadleaf or legume– Mix of above
• Careful of rotational concerns . . .
Cover crop use in vegetables I have used ... • Tomato
– Cereal Rye– Buckwheat
• Potato– Hairy Vetch– Cowpeas
• Sweet Corn– Oats and Radish– Interseeding various
• Bush Beans– Cereal rye – rolled and incorporated
• Winter Squashes– Cereal Rye as mulch, crimped– Clovers between rows as living mulch– Mulch for keeping fruit clean
• Seed Garlic– Oats, Radish, and Austrian Winter Peas
Key Sources:1. www.extension.orgSearch Cover Crops and Vegetables.-videos, articles, etc.
2. Dr. Ron Morse, Department of Horticulture,Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061. Tel. 540-231-6724; e-mail [email protected],
3. Steve Groff: PA Farmerwww.cedarmeadowfarm.com
4. Local growers experience.
First time use of cover crop?Fall Year 1
– Drill/plant oats and radish cover crop– Due before Sept 20 in NW Indiana.
Spring Year 2– Oats and radish will have winter killed.– Plant early spring vegetable crops
Fall Year 2– Drill/broadcast cereal rye cover crop after vegetable crop– Done as late as Nov 15 in NW Indiana
Spring Year 2– Terminate cereal rye 2-3 weeks before planting late vegetables
• Large seeded crop or transplant– Or roll/crimp, lay plastic mulch = see extension.org
First time user of cover crops
Ahead of early vegetables . . .
Slide by Kok/Towery CCSIN.org
Slide by Kok/Towery CCSIN.org
Slide by Kok/Towery CCSIN.org
Slide by Mike Plumer
Slide by Kok/Towery CCSIN.org
Radish after winterkillSpring 2011
Examples . . .
• Oats, barley, field peas or vetch planted in early spring – can add substantial
organic matter – ahead of June-July
plantings of squash, cucumber or beans.
– Let HV seed sit for two years (proper storage) to get rid of hard seed issue.
• Millets, sorghum-sudangrass, cowpeas and soybeans– can add tremendous
biomass during a 60-day fallow
– between spring and fall vegetables.
For those using plastic . . .• Seed Cereal
Rye or clover in Fall
• Lay plastic same time
• In spring plant cash crop
• Terminate cc or don t . . .
• Keeps same plastic 3-4 years in this way.
• Cabbage, Winter Q, Strawberries . . .
• Crazy . . .
Cereal Rye ahead of soybean, snap bean, pumpkin . . .
Perkins, 2013
Slide Dr. Gruver: WIU
Slide Dr. Gruver: WIU
Lots of biomass Freshly mowed strips
To be mowed strips
Perkins, 2013
Fall 2014Living Cover
Planting
Perkins, 2014
Garlic Video
Soil Health results for my farm . . .
20091.9 % Organic Matter
CEC = 4.4
20153.7 % Organic Matter
CEC= 8.1
How? . . . 4 Methods.• Leaf Sheet (Just first year)• Soil Amendments for P-K and micros (1 year)• Cold Leaf Compost (2 years)• Cover Crops (3 years)
Cover crops are multi-functional
Cover Crops
Adapted from Magdoff and Weil (2004)
Using cover crops to capture multiple benefits often requires more management
Cover crops are not idiot-proof!
Treat your cover crop just like you would a cash crop
Photo Dr. Gruver: WIU
Slide Dr. Gruver: WIU
In summary . . .
To improve soil health:1. Till the soil as little as possible2. Grow as many different species of plants
1. Through rotation2. Diverse mixtures of cover crops
3. Keep living plants in the soil as long as possible4. Keep the soil surface covered with residue
Free pdf download, just google.
Spring Control of Cover Cropwww.covercrops.msu.edu
Know your herbicide carry over and work from experience.
Check your water!
Incentives for using cover crops do exist!Local and USDA level.
Before today to what extent did you understand what soil health and cover crops were and how to use
them?Rank Responses1 Nothing2 Slightly3 Average4 Good5 Very Much
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Now to what extent do you understand soil health and cover
crops are and what they can be used for?
Rank Responses1 None2 Slightly3 Average4 Good5 Very Much
1 2 3 4 5 6
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Was the information you just received valuable to you?
A. YesB. MaybeC. No
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From the information you just received, will you make any changes
in your farming operation?A. YesB. MaybeC. No
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Disease/Pest Suppression Examples• Mid-Atlantic States =Sorghum Sudan grass and castor bean
reduced root-knot nematode as effectively as nematicide
• 3 year study by University of Illinois• Rhizoctonia root rot = 90% reduction after cereal rye, • Septoria brown spot = lowest levels after cereal rye• Soybean cyst nematodes = dramatic reduction in populations after
cover crop• 5- year Canadian Study, Ohio State and University of Illinois
– Annual Ryegrass disrupts lifecycle of the SCN• Reduce populations by 50%
It is important to note that, while very promising, these results are not conclusive. Researchers at all three institutions suggested that
more study is needed before making final pronouncements. Try it on your fields! With a check strip.
Sources1. Brady, N.C., and Weil, R.R. The Nature and Properties of Soils. Prentice Hall 13th edition,
2002.2. Kladivko, E.J., J. R. Frankenberger, D. B. Jaynes, D. W. Meek, B. J. Jenkinson, and N. R.
Fausey. 2004. Nitrate Leaching to Subsurface Drains as Affected by Drain Spacing and Changes in Crop Production System. J. Enivon. Qual. 33:1803-1813.
3. Strock, J.S., P.M. Porter, M.P. Russelle. 2004. Cover Cropping to Reduce Nitrate Loss through Subsurface Drainage in the Northern U.S. Corn Belt. J. Environ. Qual. 33:1010-1016.
4. Kessavalou, A., D.T. Walters. 1999. Winter Rye Cover Crop Following Soybean Under Conservation Tillage: Residual Soil Nitrate. Agron. J. 19:643-649.
5. Ruffo, M.L., D.G. Bullock. G.A. Bollero. 2004. Soybean Yield as Affected by Biomass and Nitrogen Uptake of Cereal Rye in Winter Cover Crop Rotations. Agron. J. 96:800-805.
6. Ruffo, M.L., G.A. Bollero. 2003. Modeling Rye and Hairy Vetch Residue Decompositison as a Function of Degree-Days and Decomposition-Days. Agron. J. 95:900-907.
7. Havlin, J.L., et al. Soil Fertility and Fertilizers. Prentice Hall, 7th edition, 2005. 8. UNL cropwatch online archives http://cropwatch.unl.edu/9. Michigan Cover Crops, www.covercrops.msu.edu/10. E-extension website
