Tag Archives: sequester nitrogen

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.

 

NW Indiana SWCD Research Report on Cover Crops including Annual Ryegrass

The Jasper/Newton Counties Soil and Water Conservation District report on cover crops (click here to see the whole report) is further proof of the efficacy of cover crops. Some highlights:

Here are the goals farmers (in their own words) are trying to accomplish:

  • Capture nitrogen
  •  Promote soil biology
  •  Improve soil quality
  •  Address compaction
  •  Reduce weed population
  •  Manure nutrient capture
  •  Prevent wind and water erosion
  •  Build organic matter
  •  Provide nitrogen credit
  •  Break hardpan layers
  •  Increase yields
  •  Reduce risk of drought
  •  Diversify rotation
  •  Be a steward

Pits dug, both in the fall after planting and again this spring, allowed a close look at how annual ryegrass and other cover crop varieties accomplished the task of breaking up compaction.Among the best, and no surprise here, was that annual ryegrass roots were found at depths of 3 to 4 feet.

Dan Perkins, the Watershed & Conservation Program Specialist who produced the report, also has some videos from the cover crop plots. Here’s one in which he shows off the fields with annual ryegrass, crimson clover and radish, and discusses the logic and process of successfully killing the cover crop in the spring.

Midwest Cover Crop Council Publishes Cover Crop Manual

Producers who want to prevent soil erosion, improve nutrient cycling, sustain their soils, and protect the environment have been returning to a very old practice: planting cover crops.

Although farmers have been using cover crops for centuries, today’s producers are part of a generation that has little experience with them.  As they rediscover the role that cover crops can play in sustainable farming systems, many growers find they lack the experience and information necessary to take advantage of all the potential benefits cover crops can offer.  That inexperience can lead to costly mistakes.

This guide will help you effectively select, grow, and use cover crops in your farming systems.  While this guide isn’t the final word on cover crops, it is meant to be a useful reference.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE AND TO ORDER THE BOOK

http://www.ag.purdue.edu/agry/dtc/Pages/CoverCropsFG.aspx

 

Cover Crop Root Growth – Annual Ryegrass

Steve Berger did a trial of annual ryegrass this past winter. It was ideal soil, having been in no-till for 25 years. On one plot he planted cereal rye; on the other he compared the growth of four annual ryegrass varieties.

Iowa has lagged behind other Midwest states in adoption of cover crops. Berger’s farm, in SE Iowa, is an ideal place to test it out. In that respect, Berger is an early adopter for trying annual ryegrass.

The winter was unusually mild and, thus, all the annual ryegrass did well, as did the cereal rye (a grain, not a grass). The surprising thing, when he did a root depth analysis…the cereal rye roots went deeper into the soil than annual ryegrass. Usually, on poorer soils, the opposite it true: annual ryegrass roots sometimes go as deep as 60 inches over the winter, while cereal rye roots are much shallower.

Two theories. One, annual ryegrass roots seek nutrients and moisture. On the Berger farm, there was plenty of nutrients and moisture in the no-till soil, thus they didn’t need to work overtime to get nutrition. Secondly, he did the tests in early April, a couple weeks earlier than usual. Perhaps a couple more weeks of root growth would have added more root depth.

Another thing to consider in the next year…whether cover crops tend to do better after corn or soybeans. Corn is more demanding of nitrogen, and thus the amount of available nitrogen in the soil might impact the growth of a following cover crop, especially if nitrogen was not added.

 

Annual Ryegrass Cover Crops in Iowa – Field Day on March 30th

COVER CROP FIELD DAY

RYEGRASS vs. CEREAL RYE

March 30TH – 10 a.m.

Steve Berger Farm, 1267 Elm Ave., Wellman, IA

Field  plot site is one-half mile North at Elm Ave & 120th St.

Topics:  Benefits of Cover Crops – Reduce erosion – Nitrogen credit for next crop – Build organic matter              

Burndown of Annual Ryegrass

In the next month, all that lush annual ryegrass will become history…as you’ll have to terminate the cover crop to make way for soybean and corn seeds. But “history” is a relative term…in fact, the residue of the grass will quickly decompose, giving the precious nitrogen it has stored up to the new plants.

Here’s a website with specific data about the proper way to burndown annual ryegrass.

While the dead foliage provides nitrogen for the corn and soybean sprouts during critical times in the late spring and early summer months, the roots produced by the ryegrass will also play an important role, in two ways. First, as the roots decay, they’ll provide organic matter for the soil, and nutrition for the bacteria, microbes and earthworms that help create healthy soil. Secondly, and nearly as important: the channels created deep into the subsoil by the annual ryegrass roots allows corn roots to sink equally deep, thus giving the crop a summer-long supply of moisture and nutrients deeper in the soil profile.

Especially in dry years, annual ryegrass cover crops will give your corn harvest a huge boost. Growers regularly find that cover crop acreage outperforms no-till and conventional tillage acreage by as much as 100 bu/ac!

Annual Ryegrass and Crimson Clover Boost Crop Production and Cut Input Costs

Modern technology, Careful Management and Cover Crops are Key

Cover crops continue to gain in popularity, although statistics would say that most Midwest farmers are still engaged in conventional tillage practices. National and regional conferences and field day demonstrations are changing that dynamic quickly.

Indiana-based Cameron Mills is among the early converts, having converted to no-till and cover crops years ago. While annual ryegrass has been a standard cover crop in his corn/soybean rotation, he’s now trying cover crop mixes and likes what he sees from mixing annual ryegrass with crimson clover.

Modern navigational aids on equipment is making Cameron’s work more precise and thus more efficient. He tests his soil regularly and knows which areas are high producers and which are not. And with GPS equipment engaged, he can fertilize based on the needs. “We’re gaining maximum profits out of the nutrients we’re putting on,” he said.

Cameron has an all-steer fertilizer cart behind his corn planter. While planting corn, he lays down a band of nitrogen (28% by weight), in a furrow 2 inches from the seed drop and 2 inches deep (see diagram below). His initial rate of application is 30lb of nitrogen/acre. Cameron comes back later with a side-dress of nitrogen 28.

Information from soil tests and crop production also allow him to increase or reduce inputs. In recent years, he said he’s been able to reduce application of phosphorus and potassium (P & K) largely because of his use of cover crops. “I’ve also begun to lower the rate of nitrogen, too, but I’m being very careful about how much and where. Farmers are increasingly using labs in the Midwest to test corn stalks for residual nutrients, principally nitrogen. Comparing that data with input data allows farmers to adjust inputs accordingly.

“I’m more able to build up the fertility in low production areas and saving by reduce fertilizer in areas that don’t give you any added response,” he continued.

When rotating soybeans and corn, Cameron said he’s seen a five bushel increase in soybean yield after having annual ryegrass as his cover crop. “Annual ryegrass seems to break the disease cycle of the soybean cyst nematode,” he added.

Last year, he began trying a mix of cover crops. “I’m not talking eight or 10 or 12 different cover crops; rather, I’ve mixed annual ryegrass and clover and they seem to do very well together.” For one thing, clover is a nitrogen provider and annual ryegrass is able to store a lot of nitrogen. In the spring, weeks after the cover crop has been sprayed out, the annual ryegrass residue is decaying and releases nitrogen just as the corn plant is needing a boost. “Cover crops are a win-win proposition in that respect,” Cameron said.