Category Archives: Soil Quality

Return on Investment from Cover Crops – 266 % – say Indiana Farmers

No-Till Farmer magazine just published a great article that quantifies the benefits of cover cropping. In this case “quantifying” means translating more than a decade of field data into dollars saved.

The article (click here) looks at data collected by two Indiana family farmers as well as the NRCS. The pair presented the data at this year’s Iowa Cover Crops Conference. Look at the following charts. The first contains the costs for cover crops – seed and planting: about $26/ac.

The second chart looks at the benefits: fertilizer saved, corn yield increase, soybean yield increase (less disease), drought tolerance (a 10 year average), increase in organic matter and erosion reduction. Ken Rulon, one of the farmers, said that the “return on investment” has been 266 percent, with a net benefit/acre planted at $69.17. Even if he had gotten only half the benefits, it would still be profitable, he said.

Annual Ryegrass Adds Value Topside and Below

In an online article this week, Ag.com outlines the benefits of various cover crops. High on the list is annual ryegrass. Click here for the whole article by Kacey Birchmier.

Here’s the piece about annual ryegrass.
Scientific name: Lolium multiflorum
Those who have goals centered on preventing erosion, improving soil structure, and scavenging nutrients should consider annual ryegrass, recommends Barry Fisher, an Indiana soil health specialist at USDA-NRCS. This thick, quick-growing grass produces significant deep root biomass that builds soil organic matter, accesses nutrients, suppresses weeds, and curbs soil erosion. The root system of annual ryegrass is dense at shallow depths, but also sends roots deep into the subsoil. Ryegrass can also scavenge leftover N, and provide a timed release of stored N for the following crop.

“You can minimize the N tie-up by waiting a few weeks for the cover crop to decompose before planting the following crop,” says Tracy Blackmer, research director at Cover Crop Solutions.

Annual ryegrass can be terminated by mechanical or chemical means as it overwinters. However, spring termination should be executed before the seed sets for a complete kill and to avoid potential chemical resistance. Annual ryegrass is easiest to terminate before the first node appears, says Blackmer.

Cover Crops Maximize Your ROI on Each Acre

Those with a few years experience with cover crops and no-till agriculture have come to expect there may be an occasional year when the results aren’t as terrific. It’s the long term picture that counts, according to Nick Bowers, a partner in Oregon-based KB Seed Solutions, producer of KB Royal annual ryegrass.

“There are newer guys who are tempted to give up after a disappointing year, where the cover crop stand gets winter-killed,” he said. “But those who’ve seen years of improved soil conditions and harvest increases are convinced of the value of cover cropping each year.”

Nick said he worked last year with a Minnesota farmer who did a side-by-side comparison: one field with no-till only and the other with no-till and annual ryegrass as a cover crop. “The soil temperature where annual ryegrass grew was an average 7 degrees warmer than soil with none,” he said.

He said the cover crop acreage also provided a better environment for planting into. “The soil was fluffier this spring and that allowed for less down-pressure on the planter. So, it was easier for the tractor to plant corn, and that saves on fuel.”

Some producers will always fight change, Nick added. “But those who pay attention to profit and to changes in management practices will end up better off.”

“You can always get more bushels of corn by adding nitrogen, but at some point there is no positive return on your investment. Using a cover crop such as annual ryegrass, you can become more efficient with your inputs. The goal should not be to produce as many bushels as possible, but to have the maximum return of investment per acre.”

Annual Ryegrass Cover Crop – Inexpensive and Effective at Eliminating Nutrient Runoff

Des Moines, Iowa, City Council is poised to file a federal lawsuit against several watershed councils in order that the level of nitrates be reduced in city drinking water. (Click here or above to see the news article) Even though Iowa is one of only two states in the Mississippi River Basin to have a nutrient reduction plan in effect, the effort has not diminished the nitrate levels in the Raccoon River flowing through downtown Des Moines. The river is a source of drinking water for the city.

There are a couple of ways to reduce runoff. One is mechanical, the other is vegetative. Installing monitoring stations at the edge of fields does a good job telling regulators how much nutrient is leaving. The cost to install even low-cost equipment gets expensive if you’re required to install hundreds on a farm of a couple thousand acres. And, monitoring the field, while useful, doesn’t reduce runoff.

The Environmental Protection Agency is among the regulatory agencies stepping up pressure on farmers to cut runoff of nitrates, coming from animal waste and fertilizers. The EPA says that other measures are effective of reducing or eliminating that runoff…cover crops are among the least expensive. Here are their suggestions:

Cover crops: Planting certain grasses, grains or clovers can help keep nutrients out of the water by recycling excess nitrogen and reducing soil erosion.
Buffers: Planting trees, shrubs and grass around fields, especially those that border water bodies, can help by absorbing or filtering out nutrients before they reach a water body.
Conservation tillage: Reducing how often fields are tilled reduces erosion and soil compaction, builds soil organic matter, and reduces runoff.

Don Wirth, a grass seed grower from Oregon, has been working with corn and soybean farmers in the Midwest for more than a decade. He said that it’s sad that the farming industry could not accomplish the task of reducing runoff without government intervention. He is optimistic, however, that the popularity of cover crops will constitute an effective and less expensive method of reducing nutrient runoff.

Check out the Ryegrass Videos – lots of great info for beginners!

Some years back, the Oregon Ryegrass Commission produced a series of nine videos that detail aspects of growing annual ryegrass as a cover crop.

Here are the links to the first videos in the two series:

Annual Ryegrass – Discovering the Benefits

Annual Ryegrass – Maximizing the Benefits

Once you view the first, the YouTube site will list the others in the series. You’ll get great basic information as well as helpful tips from cover crop experts and growers who have mastered the management aspects of this cover crop.

Learn how annual ryegrass benefits soil health, then how that translates into profits at the end of the year, with better production for corn and soybeans.

Beck’s Seed Quantifies Revenue Gains with Annual Ryegrass as a Cover Crop

Since 2011, Beck’s Seed has been conducting research on different cover crops. Below, they describe the study parameters, in which cover crop yields were compared to plots with no cover crops:

In this study we are evaluating the advantages of cover crops and their ability to increase yield, soil tilth, scavenge and produce nitrogen, and shatter compaction. Corn was planted into 5 different cover crops that were planted each fall since 2011. In addition, we also evaluated 3 different nitrogen programs to evaluate nitrogen scavenging and sequestration. These nitrogen rates consisted of 180 lbs. (100%N program), 135 lbs. (75% N program), and 90 lbs. (50% N program).

In two years of results, annual ryegrass by itself topped the list for return on investment, measured in both yield and in revenue differences per acre. In both years, the second best producer was annual ryegrass in a blend with crimson clover and radish. See the results of the first year’s results in 2012, by clicking here.

Just recently, Beck’s released subsequent information – comparing results from the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Click here for an informative video.

Results: Looking at 2012 (a drought year) and 2013, the weather was distinctly different. Yet, in both years, annual ryegrass bested any other cover crop. In 2012, the yield in fields with annual ryegrass exceeded those with no cover crop by16 bu/ac, which translated into a revenue boost of $72/acre. In 2013, the results were the same, with an increase of almost $60/ac. over plots with no cover crop.

Finally, it’s interesting that while some cover crops increased yield with higher nitrogen inputs, annual ryegrass did better as the rates dropped! The return was best when the N application rate was at 50%.

SARE Describes Benefits of ARG Cover Crop

If you want to build soil without investing much in a cover crop, consider annual ryegrass. This is from the website of the Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education. For the whole page, click here.

The summary goes on:

A quick-growing, non-spreading bunch grass, annual ryegrass is a reliable, versatile performer almost anywhere, assuming adequate moisture and fertility. It does a fine job of holding soil, taking up excess N and outcompeting weeds.

Ryegrass is an excellent choice for building soil structure in orchards, vineyards and other cropland to enhance water infiltration, water-holding capacity or irrigation efficiency. It can reduce soil splash on solanaceous crops and small fruit crops, decreasing disease and increasing forage quality. You also can overseed ryegrass readily into corn, soybeans and many high-value crops.

Below the Surface with Annual Ryegrass Cover Crops

Having planted your cover crop…yeah, those of you lucky enough to have gotten to it with a late harvest and wet conditions…you might be wondering what’s going on below that snow right now.

Well, for starters, what’s not happening above ground is erosion. Even if that snow cover melts off, the annual ryegrass fall growth will keep the soil in the field, as well as the soil nutrients.That means clean runoff next spring, no pollutants.

Even if the top growth of annual ryegrass is 4 to 6 inches going into dormancy before winter, the roots will continue to grow all winter. Presuming there’s no winter kill – when no snow, frigid temps and a wind chill create a hostile climate for cover crops…perhaps killing them – then the roots can grow to more than FIVE FEET DEEP.

Of course, deep rooting breaks through plow pan, hard pan and other compacted soils. This allow more water infiltration and gradually increases friability…that crumbly condition ideal for plant growth. The following growing season, corn and soybean roots follow the pathways established by the cover crop, allowing cash crops to grow deeper roots and withstand dryer summers.

After years of growing annual ryegrass and other cover crops, the decaying root matter begins to increase organic matter in the soil. Additionally, cover crops increase the carbon in the soil…a good thing. Worms and a host of microorganisms find the untilled soil attractive and add further composting below the surface. Plus the growth of mycorrihizal fungus increases the cash crop’s ability to uptake water and nutrients.

Annual ryegrass and other cover crops also sequester nitrogen and other resident nutrients in the soil. When corn needs a boost in June and July, the decaying cover crop residue gives up its nitrogen for use by the corn or beans.

The key with bringing health back to overtaxed soil is to quit plowing and go no till, then plant cover crops year after year. The net benefit, besides cleaner water, healthier soil and fewer inputs of fertilizer is a boost in production. Consistent testing of cover crop lands versus conventionally tilled soil proves that those with cover crops are better producers.

Annual Ryegrass: Part of New Adaptive Management Strategy

Adaptive management. Fancy title, basically meaning “be on top of developing situations in your fields and be ready for a Plan B”.

Many farmers already fit that definition to a TEE. When it comes to growing successful cover crops, however, many have had to up their game.

Cameron Mills, for example, was ready to seed his annual ryegrass cover crop seed in the fall, with a high-clearance sprayer adapted to plant cover crops. The late harvest, complicated by a wet fall, foiled his Plan A. His Plan B was a phone call to a nearby pilot to fly on the annual ryegrass seed.

Mills farms in Walton, IN, and has been a consistent cover cropper since 2005. His experience has put him on the front edge of cover crop field research. For example, he has studied the impact of annual ryegrass on extra nitrogen in the field. Accordingly, he’s reduced his input of N by 30 lb/ac and it hasn’t impacted yield. The following is from an article in Western Farmer Stockman

“In 2012, Mills layered in 170 lbs. of N per acre. Thanks in large part to his healthy no-till/cover-crop soil, he harvested a 165 bushel corn crop despite the severe drought.”

He said he believes he can trim that further, and Dan Towery agrees. Towery, an independent cover crop advisor and immediate past president of SWCS, said (in the same article) that, “after five years of continuous use of cover crops, farmers can typically cut N rates by an average of 50 lbs per acre for the crop year.” The savings will easily cover the cost of cover crop planting, he added.

The experience of others certainly helps those newer to cover cropping, and then having your own experience with cover crops will build confidence towards having your own Adaptive Management Strategy.

As Towery advises with adaptive management, “go slow and pay attention.”

Annual Ryegrass in a Cover Crop Mix with Rapeseed

Ron Althof is an agronomist and cover crop seed specialist working out of Effingham, Illinois. In a recent conversation, he talked about the value of cover crop mixes. And while some “cocktail” mixes can contain more than a dozen different species…and cost upwards of $60/acre to plant, he suggested starting with more basics, especially if you’re new to using cover crops.

“More people this past year tried rapeseed (or “rape”) in combination with annual ryegrass,” Ron said. “The two work together very well and the cost per acre is about a third of what expensive cocktail mixes cost.” Annual ryegrass goes on at a rate of about 15 – 20 lbs/ac, depending on whether you’re drilling (less seed) or broadcasting it. Rapeseed goes on at a rate of about 2 lb/ac.

The value of annual ryegrass, of course, is its ease of germinating and growing, whether drilled after harvest or broadcast before harvest. Annual ryegrass has deep penetrating roots, as well as a large surface mat, all of which promotes soil stability and friability (crumbly texture), with more organic matter (from decaying roots after the ryegrass is killed in the spring) and attractive microbiology (healthy bacteria, earthworms, etc).

Rapeseed is a major crop worldwide, used for oil production (vegetable and biodiesel) and as meal for livestock. In recent years, rape has been successfully used as a cover crop as well. Ron mentioned some of its attributes:

“Rapeseed also broadcasts easily and establishes well,” Ron added. “It can be planted later than radish. Like a radish, rape also has a nice tap root; but its advantage over radish is that rape has strong lateral branching roots, whereas Radish has only small lateral root hairs. Thus, the rape root stays in the ground. The other nice thing: rape usually doesn’t winter kill. It’s hardy, like annual ryegrass, and thus will protect soil from winter and spring erosion and runoff problems.”

“Finally, rape and annual ryegrass is a great cover crop mix to use whether your next crop is soybeans or corn. Annual ryegrass is a perfect choice for sequestering nitrogen, useful to both beans and corn in July when the nitrogen is released by the decaying cover crop residue. Rapeseed also helps soybean foliage as the cover crop residue releases carbon dioxide. In the process, rape also seems to protect soybean plants from nematode infestation and sudden death syndrome.”

One final note from Ron: “When terminating rapeseed, the appropriate herbicide to use is 2, 4-D…glyphosate alone will not provide a good kill.”