Laurence explains his process for planting annual cover crops to improve the soil in a new vegetable garden or annual crop rotation. This video accompanies our cover crops blog and
Cereal rye (Secale cereale L.; CR) is promoted as a cover crop as a practice for reducing nitrate leaching losses in the U.S. Midwest. However, early-season nitrogen immobilization during CR decomposition
Cover crops have been promoted for use in agricultural systems due to both environmental and economic opportunities. Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) growers in West Tennessee faced challenges in 2015 and 2016
Growing cover crops is one of the most promising conservation practices with multiple benefits. However, the impacts of cover crops on the productivity of the maize-soybean [Zea mays L. – Glycine max (L.)
Variety selection and awareness of agronomic recommendations is essential for farmers to understand how malting barley interacts with other crops in their rotations and how other growing practices could influence
This is a literature review of cover crop benefits from Dabney et al. 2001 and Dabney 1996. Cover crop benefits include soil erosion protection, reduced nutrient leaching, carbon sequestration, weed
Cover crop selection based on geographic location and climate is essential to facilitate efficient N uptake capacity of the cover crops and their potential benefits to row-crops. Monoculture corn, like
The corn-soybean cropping system dominates the Midwestern U.S., and Iowa often leads in hectares of corn and soybean. Though corn and soybean are highly productive in Iowa for a portion
Despite the demonstrated benefits of cover crops, on-farm adoption remains limited due to farmer concerns about the potential cost and management implications of cover crop use. One of the top
In agroecosystems, small increase in biodiversity can lead to large benefits for ecosystem function. Cover crop mixtures can increase the functional trait diversity of crop rotations during windows between cultivation
Subsurface drainage is an essential water management practice for many poorly drained soils in the U.S. Midwest, but this practice also contributes nitrate-N loads to surface waters. This paper summarizes
Legume cover crops can play a valuable role in maintaining and increasing soil quality and nitrogen availability, but are infrequently grown in the Upper Midwest due to short growing seasons
Cover cropping is commonly associated with increased soil microbial activity and soil health. Cover cropping in the Upper Mississippi River Basin has increased rapidly in the last decade due to
Cover cropping is a widely promoted strategy to enhance soil health in agricultural systems. Despite a substantial body of literature demonstrating links between cover crops and soil biology, an important
Many farms use leguminous cover crops as a nutrient management strategy to reduce their need for nitrogen fertilizer. When they are effective, leguminous cover crops are a valuable tool for
Cover crops reduce soil erosion, improve soil tilth, and increase soil biological activity. Legume cover crops maintain nutrient balance in organic cropping systems because they are one of the few
Metagenomics in agricultural research allows for searching for bioindicators of soil health to characterize changes caused by management practices. Cover cropping (CC) improves soil health by mitigating nutrient losses, yet
A practice that offers clear benefits to farmers, wildlife, and climate is cover cropping. Cover crops are non-commodity crops planted in between rows or during fallow periods to prevent chemical
Discover ways Iowa farmers are using cover crops to reduce erosion, manage nutrients, and improve soil health.
Corn (Zea mays) grown in the southern Piedmont requires 200 to 280 kg nitrogen (N) ha−1 annually and requires up to 0.87 cm of water per day, making groundwater systems