You have undoubtedly read, or experienced, the following effects by stopping cultivation, adopting no-till agriculture practices and then planting cover crops, such as annual ryegrass.
- Saving on fuel costs by reducing the trips over the field
- Reducing or eliminating soil compaction and fragipan layers
- Preventing soil erosion
- Conserving soil moisture
- Protecting water quality
- Fixing atmospheric nitrogen while reducing the need for nitrogen fertilizer
- Reducing the need for herbicides and pesticides
- Improving organic matter, soil porosity and water infiltration
- Increasing the population of healthy microorganisms and earthworms
- Increasing yields by enhancing soil health
In the last year, another benefit has come to light, based on the collaborative work of two men working on opposite sides of the Atlantic ocean. They claim that cover crops help to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Professor Jason Kaye (Penn. State) and Miguel Quemada (Technical University of Madrid) looked at the following things:
- Cover crops lower greenhouse gases by increasing soil carbon sequestration and, thus, the use of less fertilizer
- Cover crop vegetation also lowers the proportion of energy from sunlight that is reflected off farm fields.
This last point, according to Professor Kaye, “may mitigate 12 to 46 grams of carbon per square meter per year over a 100-year time horizon.” Click here to read a longer description of the article. Or, click here for the academic study itself.