Tag Archives: Mike Plumer

Annual Ryegrass at Commodity Classic – Feb 28

Annual ryegrass is among the most popular cover crops. As such, it will be among the key elements in a Cover Crop learning session at the Commodity Classic this year, in San Antonio, TX. The session will cover both the trend in cover crop use nationally, but also specifics on how to make cover crops work for your acreage.

The Conservation Technology Information Center and DuPont Pioneer are sponsoring the session. Here’s a link to a full story and details about attending

The learning center session, “Cover Your Assets: Improve Productivity, Efficiency and Soil with Cover Crops,” will take place Feb. 28 at 1:45 p.m. in the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, Room 217BC.

The presenters include Mike Plumer and Jamie Scott, both of whom have been long time annual ryegrass advocates. Mike worked for decades for the U. of IL as an Extension Educator. Jamie is an Indiana farmer, whose business now includes providing annual ryegrass seed flown onto about 60,000 acres each year.

Additional experts are Rob Myers, regional director of extension programs for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program and  Karen Scanlon, CTIC executive director, who will moderate the session.

“Cover crops are an exciting topic that continues to gain the spotlight,” Scanlon said.

Cover Crops – Nothing Sells Like Success

Mike Plumer put in cover crop demonstration plots at the Farm Progress Show this year. Imagine, growing a test plot on the no-till Fairgrounds (Decatur, IL) in wheat mulch. Imagine planting a cover crop in the Spring and hoping to get enough moisture to show to people a good stand in August!

As an agricultural practice, it stinks. But as a educational tool, it was a great success.

“We had 18 field plots (20 x 40′) with all sorts of cover crops. Among them were annual ryegrass, crimson clover, cereal rye, vetch, oats and radish,” Plumer said. “We only got one-tenth of an inch of rain in the weeks running up to the Fair, but thankfully there was good sub-soil moisture.

Plumer said the reception by the public was extremely good. He said that the majority of attendees were not new to cover crops and that many came with very specific, sophisticated questions about cover crop varieties, seed mixtures, planting options and management techniques.

“Acceptance of cover crops has grown tremendously in the past few years,” he added. The Conservation Technology Information Center estimates an increase of 350% in just the past four years.

With corn and soybeans coming off the fields late this fall, more producers have resorted to aerial or broadcast seeding of cover crops into standing corn and soybeans. Click here for more information about that practice.

Annual Ryegrass Popular at Farm Progress Show

By MITCH LIES

Cover crops were center stage at the 2013 Farm Progress Show Aug. 27 – 29 in Decatur, IL. Prominent among them was annual ryegrass.

The emphasis on cover crops mirrors the skyrocketing interest in annual ryegrass and other cover crops by Midwest growers in recent years.

Agricultural consultant Mike Plumer, a retired University of Illinois Extension agent who has worked with cover crops for three decades, estimated that cover crop usage has grown 400 percent in the last two years, alone.

At the 2013 Farm Progress Show, cover crops for the first time were featured in a crop demonstration plot. The exhibit provided growers a first-hand look at different cover crops, like millet, radish, crimson clover, cereal rye, buckwheat, rapeseed, turnips, oats, winter peas and annual ryegrass.

Annual ryegrass has become one of the most well known cover crops in the past 15 years, Plumer said. He estimates that annual ryegrass represents 25 percent of the total cover crop usage in the Midwest.

“My yields have been climbing every year, particularly after the third year,” said Rich Recker, a Mt. Pleasant, Mich., grower who has used cover crops for six years. “The third year is the charm.”

A survey of 750 growers conducted last fall by the Conservation Technology Information Center and the USDA North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program showed that corn planted after cover crops had a 9.6 percent increase in yield, compared to corn planted next to it that didn’t follow a cover crop.

Soybean yields increased 11.6 percent following cover crops.

In the hardest hit drought areas of the Corn Belt, yield differences were even greater, according to the survey, with an 11 percent increase in corn yields and a 14.3 percent increase in soybean yields following cover crops.

The survey showed a 350 percent jump in the total acreage in cover crops between 2008 and 2012.

Joe Rothermel, of Champaign County, Ill., said he’s seen improved soil health since he started using annual ryegrass as a cover crop four years ago. The improved soil health has helped get water to plants, he said, particularly in drought years.

“I think we’ve got to do everything we can to get water into the ground, and keep it there,” Rothermel said.

Rothermel also said he’s getting weed control from the cover crop, a side benefit he never expected when he started using annual ryegrass.

“We don’t have near the marestail pressure,” he said.

Macon,IL., grower Paul Butler said he, too, has been getting weed-control from his annual ryegrass cover crop. He’s also been happy with the ryegrass’s ability to break up compaction.

“When we have compaction issues, there is not a lot I can do,” he said. “The radish and the ryegrass seem to be doing a good job with that.”

Butler said he flies on the annual ryegrass seed before corn is harvested. Doing so gives the annual ryegrass added time to establish  before a killing frost.

John Gullidge, a farmer from Lewisville, Ill., said annual ryegrass is helping tie up nutrients in what he describes as poor soil and put them into a form the next crop can use.

“I’m trying to make the best of what I have with what I can,” he said.

Crop consultant Mark Mellbye, a former Oregon State University Extension agent, has been working with Oregon ryegrass seed growers on developing the Midwest cover crop market since the effort began in 1996.

Overall usage of annual ryegrass in the Midwest has increased from a few thousand pounds in the late 1990s, to maybe 5 million pounds three or four years ago, Mellbye said, and up to 15 or 20 million pounds this year.

The interest in annual ryegrass, Mellbye added, has skyrocketed just between last year and this year.

 

Seeding Rate for Annual Ryegrass Cover Crop Varies

In past years, we’ve published pretty standardized rates for seeding annual ryegrass into corn and soybeans. The rates vary from about 12 llb/ac (drilling) to 25 lb/ac if broadcast or aerial seeding. Click here to go to our four-page management guide or here for our handy Quick guide.

Now, even among experts, there’s some thought to lowering the recommended seeding rate, in order to save money but also to make it easier to manage the ryegrass in the field.

Mike Plumer has seen instances where annual ryegrass was too heavy, creating difficulty drilling into it after burndown. The root mat of annual ryegrass, if too dense, can complicate the closing of the seed trench. Further, he says that annual ryegrass roots seem to go deeper if the stand is thinner, because the plants don’t have as much competition with each other. He’s seen effective stands at as low as 8 lb/ac and thinks the 25 lb/ac is too heavy.

Dan Towery is more cautious about cutting back on the recommended seeding rate. While he agreed with Mike that certain growing conditions would warrant less seed/ac, he doesn’t want to end up with stands that are too thin. He said that the 2012/2013 cover crop season was unusual in that annual ryegrass did super well. The reasons: lots of residual N in the field from last year’s drought, September rain that got the ryegrass established well and a long spring that prolonged the cover crop season.

The consensus decision, after more discussion, will manifest in a modification of language in our brochures. Stay tuned…but it looks like growers will be advised to use best practices for your area and the climate conditions. That means asking the experts, whether at your seed supplier, your Extention agronomist….or your neighbor who’s been growing successful cover crops and can guide you on the local recommendations.

And then again, you can always contact us…we’ll put you in touch with Mike or Dan – or any number of other successful cover crop growers in your area – and you can hear it directly from them..

New Annual Ryegrass Publications

The Oregon Ryegrass Commission has published three helpful new flyers to aid in your selection and management of annual ryegrass as a cover crop.

1. Selection of Annual Ryegrass

2. 2014 Annual Ryegrass Management Guide – “Quick” 2-pager

3. 2013 Annual Ryegrass Management Guide – Comprehensive 4-pager

Please let us know if these could use further information or clarification.

All of these and more are available on the Annual Ryegrass Cover Crop website.

Mike Plumer Address Oregon Seed Growers about Annual Ryegrass Cover Crop Project

In 1996, Oregon sold perhaps a total of 100,000 pounds of annual ryegrass seed into the Midwest. By that time, the annual ryegrass cover cropping project had been active for almost a decade.But cover crops had not caught on in a big way, even though those early adopters were enthusiastic about the results they were seeing in their soil and their yields.

By the end of 2010, the annual amount had risen to about 5,000,000 pounds. Two years later, that figure has tripled (15 million pounds/year) and by some estimates, that amount could nearly double again next year.

What happened to propel sale of annual ryegrass in the Midwest? Four things, according to Mike Plumer, a pioneering cover crop educator and crop consultant:

  • The government’s heavy subsidy of ethanol fuel production. Beginning in 2008 farmers in the Midwest began to get ahead a few dollars and so they invested in cover crops to boost soil health and yields.
  • Because annual ryegrass had  become a familiar product (because of a decade or more of education, field days, conference presentations, etc.), farmers turned to annual ryegrass for a cover crop alternative.
  • Government promotion of cover crops as an effective conservation measure
  • The drought of 2012 further encouraged cover cropping simply because so many farmers had excess nitrogen in the field and wanted something that would keep it there.

Annual ryegrass was among the most popular cover crops because those who had planted it last fall may have had less crop losses because of the deep rooting.

Mike Plumer 2012 Report on Annual Ryegrass and Other Cover Crops

“Why has there been such an increase in cover crops in recent years?” asked Mike Plumer at the Oregon Seed League meeting yesterday.

  • First, it’s about capturing the nutrients in the field, keeping nutrients from running off during winter and spring months. In a normal year, there can be 90 lb/ac of nitrate available for annual ryegrass or another cover crop to take up. In 2012, because of the drought, there was probably well over 100 lb/ac in many places. With the cost of nitrogen going to $1500 – $2000/ton, it’s easy math to see why cover crops make sense.
  • “Cover crops can double your yields,” Plumer said. Though rare, in a terrible weather year like 2012, there were lots of instances where farmers more than doubled their yields with annual ryegrass and other cover crops. The secret is rooting depth. Without cover crops, corn roots starve out quickly as they hit compacted layers. With annual ryegrass roots penetrating to beyond 6 feet, they allow channels for corn roots to follow.

Plumer’s caution to the group was in terms of cover crop seed quality. “There are about 7 varieties of annual ryegrass that are hardy enough to weather a Midwest winter,” he said. Because of the popularity of annual ryegrass, however, seed provided to unwary Midwest farmers may not be among those seven varieties. Plumer said it would be a tragedy to flood the Midwest with seed that won’t grow well. His advice to buyer’s;  beware…and ask lots of questions about the source and variety of seed. His advice to seed growers: make sure you’re sending us varieties that will withstand Midwest winter conditions.

 

Pioneer of Cover Crops and Annual Ryegrass Talks Dry Year Benefits

Ralph “Junior” Upton (Springerton, IL) began using cover crops (buckwheat and hairy vetch) in the 1980s, mainly to reduce erosion on his hilly acres. In the 90s, he began looking for a cover crop to break up the hardpan soil just below plow depth. “I haven’t got the best soil, so I’ve always been tinkering with how to improve my yield, especially in dry years,” he said.

Working closely with Mike Plumer (a farmer and Univ. IL Extension educator at the time), Upton was among a half dozen Midwest producers who tried annual ryegrass on small plots, planted in the fall after harvest. “I rely on Mike for knowing what to look for in the soil. When I called him out that next April, we were all surprised to find ryegrass roots to 72 inches, with a top growth of only 4 inches,” Upton said. “I had always thought that you only get an inch of roots for every inch of top growth.”

Later that summer, after having killed the ryegrass and then planted corn, he went back to the same field location to see whether the deep ryegrass roots might have impacted the growth of corn roots. “The annual ryegrass opened up small channels that corn roots used to access deeper soil and moisture,” Upton said. Deep rooting has allowed his corn and bean crops to do better in dry years, because the cover crop also took care of the hardpan soil. “There was no longer any restriction to growth,” he added.

This year, having gotten only one rainfall when the corn was knee high, his crop was not as productive as in normal years. Still, with some farmers in his area mowing down their entire acreage, Upton was happy getting an average of 70 bu/ac. and a high of about 130 bu/ac. With temperatures above 100 degrees for weeks, many saw their corn fail to pollinate. Upton wonders whether pollination, in addition to deeper rooting (soil was bone dry to 3 feet), could be impacted by the presence of annual ryegrass.

Dan Towery Recalls the Early Days of Cover Crops

Back in the mid to late 1980s, Dan Towery got enthusiastic about cover crops. “Mainly, we were interested in reducing erosion but we were also looking at nitrogen fixation properties that could benefit corn planted into the residue,” he said.

But then, in the summer of 1988, the drought was much like it was this past summer (2012), and as Towery recalls, the results of “not knowing enough about cover crops” created a multiplier effect in the drought’s impact.”In order to give the hairy vetch the maximum time in the ground, to maximize the nitrogen fixation, farmers left the cover crop in the field until the 3rd week of May, when normal corn planting is the 3rd week of April.

“The vetch sucked too much moisture from the ground and the drought was made worse because of that decision,” Towery said. I said then: ‘I’m not promoting cover crops anymore!'”

But times and attitudes changed with the addition of annual ryegrass as a cover crop alternative in the early 90s.By the late 90s, Towery was working at the Conservation Tillage Information Center, promoting no-till mostly. Early results from Mike Plumer’s work with farmers in Illinois were producing promising results with annual ryegrass.

It wasn’t long before Towery was a believer again. In fact, he was an advisor working with the Nature Conservancy on a watershed enhancement project in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, where farmers were paid to use annual ryegrass to prevent field runoff.

“Look at the change in acceptance since then,” Towery said. “From a time where we paid farmers $500 to plant 10 acres of cover crops  (1998) to now, when we’re experiencing a shortage of annual ryegrass and other cover crop seed, because of the demand.”

Towery said that education has bee a key element in the popularity of cover crops. “And, an important element continues to be the caution about use of cover crops….you have to be willing to be a good manager of the cover crop, no matter which one you choose.”

“Keep Up the Progressive Effort” on Cover Crops and No-Till, Says Dobberstein

John Dobberstein is managing editor of No–Till Farmer and the Conservation Tillage Guide.

Today, in the magazine’s E-Tip newsletter, he tipped his hat to those no-till and cover crop innovators for helping to change the face of agriculture…perhaps globally!

While some farmers have no-tilled and planted cover crops for decades, the practice has only taken serious root in the past eight to 10 years. The Oregon Ryegrass Commission has played a strategic role in that effort. With long time cooperation between Oregon annual ryegrass seed growers and University Extension agents like Mike Plumer and crop consultants like Dan Towery, a decade of trials attracted a lot of followers. Quickly, innovative farmers showed their neighbors, and conservation tillage was launched.

The Ryegrass Commission also sponsored early conferences on no-till and cover crop management, because they wanted to keep errors at a minimum. The last thing one wants is a bad experience to spoil the potential for growth.

So, here’s Dobberstein’s comments about the growth of no-till and cover crops, and his hearty encouragement to keep up the good effort. Click here for the full newsletter:

In the last month, while listening to leaders in both the private sector and federal government, no-till continues to be talked about on a national and global scale as a way to ease environmental and food-production challenges. Here’s what I’ve seen:

• Early in June, BASF held its Agricultural Solutions Media Summit (check out our Tweets) and tackled the issue of sustainability in food systems. A new research tool unveiled by the company, AgBalance, showed the use of conservation tillage had increased by 13% in Iowa between 2000 and 2010, and that a variety of best-management practices and hybrid improvements boosted the overall sustainability of corn production in the state by 40% during that time.

• Just yesterday, the USDA announced another $8.4 million in funding for voluntary farming-related projects that will address water-quality issues in several states bordering the Mississippi River. No-till, precision technology and cover crops will be crucial in this effort.

“Cover crops are one of the most exciting things that we’re doing,” said NRCS chief Dave White. “When I was growing up, it was winter wheat or cereal rye that was discussed. But now we’re getting different mixes out there with many different species.”