Tag Archives: cover crops

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.”

THIS THURSDAY: Ohio Field Day to Feature Cover Crop Planting Advice and Tips

Ohio No-Till Field Day

September 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The 2012 Ohio No-Till Field Day is going to be held Thursday, September 13 with demonstrations on planter and drill setups, a firsthand look at cover crop plots and discussions on cover crop choices included in the day long program.

“Dave Brandt is hosting it and he’s getting quite a reputation nationally for his work with cover crops and no-till and the success of it,” said Randall Reeder, retired Extension ag engineer at Ohio State. “I think a key thing with it this year, with the drought, cover crops that were properly managed with continuous no-till are increasing yields.”

Speakers at the No-Till Field Day include, Gabe Brown of North Dakota, Bill Lehmkuhl and Ray Archuleta, a soil scientist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The event is from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the David Brandt Farm, 6100 Basil Western Road, Carroll, Ohio.

Annual Ryegrass IS NOT THE SAME as Cereal Rye

The name “rye” in both cover crops is confusing.  Annual ryegrass is a grass; Cereal rye is a grain, more like wheat.

Both are used for cover crops and forage.

Here are some basic differences, with the most distinctive in bold:

1.                   Annual Ryegrass                                                                         2.      Cereal Rye

Seed size/weight –     very small (26 lb/bu)                                                          larger (56 lb/bu)

Plant date –         varies, but late Aug/early Sept. best                                    can be planted later Sept.

Seeding rate –     drill: 12 – 17 lb/ac; aerial: 25 lb/ac                                               drill: 45 lb/ac.

Winterkill –        med. risk, less with 40 days fall growth and snow cover                          no

Deep rooting –     yes, to 60 inches over a few years                                   not as deep, 24 – 36 inches

Top growth –      10 ” to 12″ in spring, before burndown                    20″ at burndown, can get to 72″

Nitrogen –       sequesters N; releases N after burndown                     sequesters N; too much in stalks

Management –    care in burndown; no volunteers!                         easy kill; careful w/ over growth

Allelopathic –                              no                                                          yes, with certain crop seeds

Cost –              less $/ac. because of low cost/# and fewer #/ac.                higher cost/# and more #/ac

 

Annual Ryegrass and Other Cover Crops Boost Yield in Dry Years

Two Midwest farmers had a common soil problem – compaction – and they discovered how annual ryegrass could remedy that problem permanently, with no more “heavy iron” involved.

Read the whole story of how using annual ryegrass, and other, cover crops have led to new appreciation for having something green growing in your soil year-round. Besides breaking up compaction, cover crops build organic matter, prevent erosion and leaching of field nutrients into nearby streams and rivers.

The biggest discovery, however, was that because of its deep rooting, annual ryegrass helps summer crops sustain their health through sustained months of dryness. The difference in yields on harvests from cover crop acres – from those on conventional tilled land, or even straight no-till – is astonishing.

Read the whole article by clicking here.

Cover Crops, including Annual Ryegrass, Important This Year to Soak Up Residual Nitrates

The University of Wisconsin (UW) published today an invitation for Midwest farmers to use cover crops this year, especially in light of the severe drought. You can see the whole article by clicking here:

An excerpt of the article, by UW staffers Matt Ruark, Kevin Shelley and Francisco Arriaga, as well as Rock County Extension staffer Jim Stute, follows:

With a growing season like we are having in 2012, it is likely that residual nitrate concentrations in the soil will be high, especially if corn was harvested early as silage or if yields are well below expected. One benefit of planting cover crops after corn silage, small grain, or a processing vegetable crop, or after a manure application is that the cover crop can take up residual nitrate and reduce the risk of nitrate leaching between harvest and planting.

Cover crops trap nitrate. The ideal cover crops for a nitrate trap crop are grass crops that establish quickly, such as cereal rye (aka winter rye), oat, barley, annual ryegrass (aka Italian ryegrass), and sorghum-sudangrass. These cover crops also have a fibrous root system. Brassicas (e.g. radish, turnip, mustard) and legumes (clover, hairy vetch) will also take up residual nitrate, but do not establish as quickly. Radish has been popular cover crop in no-till systems and, if planted early enough, radish can take up as much or more N compared to grass cover crops during the winter, but grass cover crops can scavenge N deeper into the soil profile.

The USDA-NRCS has announced additional funding through Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) to provide financial assistance to establish cover crops. The sign up for this program runs to August 24.

Annual Ryegrass Recommended for Forage & Cover Crop this Fall

Annual ryegrass was among the recommendations for forage this fall by the Where Food Comes From webside. The grass, already a popular cover crop in the US, can do double duty where farmers seek added food for livestock. Click here for full article...below is a paragraph from the article.

Late August to Early September Plantings
Spring oat, spring triticale, and annual ryegrass can also be planted from late August to mid-September, immediately after an early corn silage harvest. These later planting dates will produce lower yields (1500 to 3000 lbs dry matter/acre) and harvest will be delayed into months with poor drying conditions (November to early December), but would be an excellent option for grazing or green chopping. Forage quality will be very high with these later plantings – CP will range from 20 to 32%, NDF will be 30 to 38%, and NDF digestibility will be 75 to 85%. If an early spring forage harvest is desirable next year, winter triticale and winter rye should be included in mixture with the spring oat and spring triticale planted in late August and early September.

Some Rain, Too Late. Cover Crops May Help Protect Soil, Save Nutrients

The half-inch or so of rain in the Midwest this week has sprouted spirits, although with more warm weather forecast, the prospect for a reversal of fortunes on most corn crops is slim. The worst drought in more than 50 years has farmers mowing starved and stunted corn for sileage and bracing for similar hits with soybeans. (Make sure to check the nitrate levels in the corn stalks before saving it…too high a nitrate level can be fatal to livestock.) Even those able to salvage a corn crop this year will see vastly reduced yields.

Purdue’s Extension forage specialist Keith Johnson today recommended planting annual ryegrass, or another forage crop such as spring oat or forage turnip. Seeded early enough (August), farmers could get a grazing off the grass this fall, as well as next spring. Ryegrass would normally have a better chance of wintering over than oats or turnips.

Perhaps the only “silver lining” in the drought news is that there’s probably a lot of residual fertility in the soil that can be saved by planting a late summer cover crop, according to Nick Bowers, a seed grower in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The good news with annual ryegrass: it’s inexpensive, it’s a scavenger of excess N in the soil and, even if it doesn’t germinate this fall, it will sprout next spring. If normal rainfall picks up, aerial seeding will be adequate, but drilling is otherwise advised. For more on seeding, check out this page.

Looking for another silver lining? Iowa State University climatologist Owen Taylor said it appears that this weather pattern – similar to 1956 and 1988 – comes in 20 year cycles. It appears, Taylor said, that we’re headed back to a “normal” pattern with an El Nino forming. Keep your fingers crossed.

 

Cover Crops This Fall Will Save Some Money on Nitrogen Next Year

All that corn in the field, dying. And with it, the prospect of additional losses of nitrogen fertilizer. If fields are mowed, or plowed under, in the wake of no-show corn, what happens to the nitrogen this fall, when the rains come? Leached out, poured into streams and rivers, sent to the already toxic Gulf of Mexico.

Cover crops, like annual ryegrass, prevent erosion. Just as importantly, they sequester nitrogen, acquiring what’s been left in the soil (normally 100-200 pounds/acre) and make much of it available next July, when maturing corn is looking for a boost.

Economically strapped farmers may be loathe to invest in cover crop seed for the fall when their insurance checks are still pending. Even more so for those without insurance. But if they’re going to plant corn next year, a cover crop this winter will be a huge asset next year. Even without a return on their corn investment this year, planting a cover crop can prevent further losses to erosion, while storing nitrogen for the crop next July and building soil more tolerant of drought.

 

Drought-stricken corn field: June 16 (left) and July 2 (right) – Robertson Farm, Benton, IL

Annual ryegrass, planted this fall (Aug. and early Sept), will send roots down to five feet in no-till acres, breaking up compaction and mining nutrients in deeper soil. Next spring, the nitrogen-rich cover crop will be killed before planting corn, and can give back as much as 70 percent of the stored nitrogen to maturing corn plants. Meanwhile, the deep roots of annual ryegrass become part of the growth of organic matter in healthy soil, even as corn roots grow past to reach deeper moisture in a dry year.

More info: www.ryegrasscovercrop.com

Contact: Dan Towery – IN agronomist, educator, former NRCS staffer: 765-490-0197.

 

Cover Crops Won’t Help the Corn Today. But They Will for Next Year.

The summer of 2012 has already shown up as a total bust for some corn and soybean acres in the Midwest. Some counties have already been declared a disaster; some acres have been mowed or plowed under. To read a recent New York Times article about the severe drought and its impact click here:

Yesterday, an email from Mike Plumer, about the dire straits in Illinois.

My part of Illinois will be lucky to get 20 bu/a corn and right now soybeans are 4 leaves and blooming so there is little yield expected.   It is 107 again today.  Many double crop acres were not planted so that is a possible site for early cover crops.

The big issue is how RMA will address yield losses and what they will pay—and when they will release the farmer to destroy the crop.   Some areas have been “zeroed” out and farmers have already mowed the corn.   I have been north to south in the state and there are very few areas that will be normal yield, and [accepting a] 50 bu/a loss would be nice [as an alternative to a total loss].   Field at Springfield I estimated Tuesday at 45bu/a. corn.

Our moisture here came as a 60mph hail storm, quarter-sized hail off and on for an hour,,, about 1-2” deep plus 3-5” of rain in 20 minutes—it was 111 degrees when the hail started.   All soybeans gone, broken off at the ground and corn is very damaged.  At least there is some soil moisture.   I will replant plots tomorrow and start on some cover crops on my farm.