Cover Crops Conference

Soil building crops are nothing new. Cover crops and green manure are common in large and small gardens. Subterranean clover plants are legumes and, as such, have the capacity to fix nitrogen in soil. Nitrogen availability is crucial for much of a plant’s growth. Subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum) is a plant that spreads through underground stolons, or specialized stems, which fix nitrogen. The plant is useful in many different cropping applications. What

The author is a senior agriculture consultant with the Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, Okla.Noble Research InstituteDuring fall, many producers in the South put a cover crop plan in to action — perhaps seeding small grains, winter peas, vetch, or clovers into their dormant warm-season, perennial grass pastures. Those grazing wheat pasture this winter may be planning a subsequent summer cover crop of sorghum, cowpeas, sunn hemp, sunflower, or other warm-season plants following harvest or graz

You may look at most small grains – oats, rye, wheat, triticale, barley, spelt – and think of either grain or forage. As it happens, small grains also make excellent cover crops. They are easy and economical to establish and grow, great at building soil, and helpful for uptaking excess nutrients. Get them in the ground on the early side in the fall (or spring, for oats, spring triticale, or spring barley) to get the most benefit. You don’t need a fancy mix or even a legume to reap many of the b

Even if you’re not growing cover crops to feed your cash crops, this is great information because it gives us more insight into the mystery of how plants add nitrogen to our soils to help us. Thanks to the Soil Science Society of America for sharing this with us. A circle of life-and nitrogen-is playing out in farms across the United States. And researchers are trying to get the timing right. Some cover crops, such as hairy vetch or cereal rye, are not grown to be eaten. Instead, they cap