Tag Archives: seeding cover crops

Cover Crop Acreage Tops 2 Million Acres in Midwest?

In 2005 there were not many cover crops being planted in the Midwest.   Although annual ryegrass had very positive results, management was seen as somewhat complex and there was limited adoption.

Here it is, almost 9 years later, and the cover crop phenomenon continues to impress us all. It’s hard to calculate exactly, but crop consultant and cover crop advocate Dan Towery estimated that upwards of 2 million acres of cover crops were planted last year in the Midwest.

But here’s the astonishing thing. Key players in cover crop development will meet in Omaha in February, 2014. It’s by invite only. And among the agenda items, according to Towery, is to strategize how to increase the acreage in Midwest cover crops by TEN FOLD in the next decade – to 20,000.000 acres! That sounds like a lot until you understand that there over 170 million acres of corn and soybean acreage in the Midwest, according to the Dept. of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the Univ. of Illinois  Urbana – Champaign.

One of Towery’s concerns: even to get to the 20 million acre mark, it may be a challenge to find the seed to plant those acres. Seed farmers in Oregon have increased their acres to match demand of annual ryegrass and other cover crops. But are there enough acres to produce seed for a 10 fold increase? Stay tuned.

Annual Ryegrass Sales Brisk on Production Gains in 2012

Sales of annual ryegrass seed this year have been “pretty good” said Illinois-based agronomist Ron Althoff. Even with extremely dry summer months, farmers were banking on enough rain to germinate annual ryegrass seed, while also hoping against a subsequent dry spell that could wither the new cover crop.

It’s a risk many are willing to take, after having seen the value of cover crops in the 2012 season, when corn and soybean production yields were 10 to 12 percent higher on acres where cover crops were used, according to a Midwest farm survey by the Sustainable Ag Research and Education program (SARE). Just that news has precipitated a continued rush to find cover crop seed. The research also indicated that the number of acres planted continues to climb steadily, increasing nearly one-third this year over last year.

Althoff, a seed dealer for Oregon-based Saddlebutte Ag, said that planting annual ryegrass has become more popular by airplane, or with high-clearance equipment, into a standing corn or soybean crop. Drilling cover crop seed after harvest gets trickier with a late harvest because annual ryegrass needs about 40 days of above freezing weather to establish well.

Althoff said that while he prefers annual ryegrass, farmers can plant other cover crops later because they need less time to establish.

“Corn grown on annual ryegrass cover crop got in some cases 50 bu. better yield than average,” he said. With that kind of return, it’s clear why people are finding the investment for cover crops worthwhile.

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.

 

Where To Buy Annual Ryegrass Seed

Many people ask us where to buy annual ryegrass seed for use as a cover crop in the Midwest. We’ve finally put together a list. Click here to access information.

In a recent post, you were invited to download a publication that explains about the varieties of annual ryegrass, and how important that you ask questions of your seed dealer before buying seed.

  • Where is the seed from?
  • Is it a winter hardy variety?
  • Has it been tested for use as a cover crop in the Midwest?

Click here for a copy of that flyer

.Finally, if you’re wanting a comprehensive brochure about annual ryegrass as a cover crop, click here.

 

 

 

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.

Ryegrass Cover Crop Works Well for ASA Conservation Award Winner

Soil health is the main focus at Wenning Farms, in the rolling hills and tight clay soils of southeastern Indiana. The family operates more than 600 acres in a corn/soybean rotation.

Roger Wenning, the son of the founder of the farm, talks here in a video about his practice of rigorous on-farm research and field trials. His efforts paid off last year with good production even in the drought. His efforts also netted Roger the annual Conservation Award from the American Soybean Association.

Roger cover crops his entire acreage, has tried many different cover crops, and still makes a lot of use with annual ryegrass, because of its being a deep-rooting plant that sequesters N for the following corn plants.

Watch the video by clicking here

New to Cover Crops? Read this News Article about Annual Ryegrass and Radishes.

Long time Illinois farmer Sonny Snyder learned this year that cover crops are a money saver, a soil saver and, with success, a revenue enhancer…although he’s had to spend some time learning new management techniques.

Click here for the story. Here’s an excerpt:

After more than 50 years of farming, Sonny Snyder last fall planted a crop he never intended to harvest.

At first mention, the idea seems an odd use of time and money. Yet, a growing number of corn and soybean farmers like Snyder are trying it throughout the state to improve their soils.

Farmers call them cover crops, and the re-born concept seems one of the hottest topics in the agriculture industry, said Russ Higgins, commercial agriculture educator with University of Illinois Extension and a representative of the Midwest Cover Crops Council.

Cover crops, such as radishes and ryegrass, are a secondary crop planted in the fall to protect and improve soil conditions during the period of time when crops normally wouldn’t grow, he said. Illinois farm fields, unless planted to harvestable crops like winter wheat or multiple seasons of alfalfa hay, generally rest unused in a six- to seven-month window of cool or cold weather.

“For a long time, I’ve been concerned about taking our crop off our fields and there’s six months before there’s anything back on it,” said Snyder, who farms near Yates City with his son Scott.

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.