Check out these videos if you want to see a wide variety of cover crop types. Two well known universities – Clemson University and Ohio State did small plot demos on a lot of traditional as well as new entries in the cover crop family. The videos were shot in April and May of 2018.

Annual ryegrasses features prominently, with some new varieties, including “Frostproof”, “Kodiak” and “Winter Hawk”, as well as “LowBoy”. The value of the first of these new varieties might be winter hardiness. In the second instance, interestingly, LowBoy has less top growth but the root structure is similar in mass to taller varieties. this might be of value for farmers not interested in grazing the annual ryegrass,but wanting the cover crop’s deep rooting and other virtues (breaking compaction, nitrogen uptake, erosion and weed control).

Some other cover crops they examine include different varieties of vetch, clover, peas, triticale, and oats.

The value of university research in agriculture is inestimable, because their funding allows new developments for improving industry standards and growth. But aside from that, the students coming through those programs will be among the new leaders in finding ways to increase production while also conserving resources.

While you’re in the video mood, perhaps you’d like to check out the videos available on the benefits of ryegrass. You can find them by clicking here.