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Joel Gruver WIU- Agriculture [email protected] (309) 298 1215 Cover crops for organic field cropping systems in MN http://www.slideshare.net/jbgruver/

Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

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Page 1: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Joel Gruver WIU- Agriculture

[email protected] (309) 298 1215

Cover crops for organic field cropping systems in MN

http://www.slideshare.net/jbgruver/

Page 2: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Almost 500 miles!

Macomb

Page 3: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Macomb IL Apr 21 Oct 11 180

Page 4: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

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Historically, 29% more GDD @ 40F

than Saint Cloud

Page 6: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Very few opportunities for CC before or after corn and soybeans

http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Minnesota/Publications/Annual_Statistical_Bulletin/2011/Whole%20Book.pdf

Page 7: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Many more opportunities for CC after wheat, barley, oats, rye, peas…

http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Minnesota/Publications/Annual_Statistical_Bulletin/2011/Whole%20Book.pdf

Page 8: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

small grains + warm season grasses + a. ryegrass + buckwheat + flax

mustard + radish + rapeseed/canola + turnip

alfalfa + clovers + vetch + peas + soybeans

6 mixtures of c. rye, a. ryegrass, c. clover, oats, radish, peas + vetch

Page 9: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Crop planted on 5/15

and harvested

on 10/1

Page 10: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Crop planted on 4/15

and harvested

on 8/15

Page 11: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

MCCC website also provides links to lots of good extension publications

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Page 13: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN
Page 14: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Lots of potential cover crop species are described in this publication

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Page 17: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN
Page 18: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Wisconsin data suggest that approximately 70% of whole-plant N will become available in the first year following clover, most released before corn begins its

period of rapid uptake.

Page 19: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Usually, the best conditions for frost seeding occur in mid to late March. Low overnight temperatures cause the surface to freeze

and crack. Warm daytime temperatures thaw the surface, sealing the cracks. If daytime thawing occurs, the daily “window” for

seeding lasts only a few hours, beginning at dawn. With subfreezing daytime temperatures, seeding can occur anytime

during the day. Seed can be broadcast until mid-April if cracks are present and the traditional frost-seeding window is missed.

Page 20: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Gary Sommers’ farm in Clinton, Wisconsin, is just down the road from his boyhood home. He grows corn, soybeans, and winter wheat on 1,475 of his 1,500 acres. The remaining 25 acres are enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program. Gary mainly uses cover crops on his steeper fields. Usually he sows cover crops—including buckwheat, soybeans, oats, and Berseem clover—after harvesting winter wheat in mid-July. The following spring he plants these fields to corn. Cover crops which do not winter-kill are terminated in the fall to prevent corn planting delays.

Page 21: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN
Page 22: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Grazing brassicas, clovers, alfalfa, small grains, annual ryegrass, sorghum-sudan

Nutrient scavenging/cycling brassicas, small grains, annual ryegrass

Bio-drilling brassicas, annual ryegrass, sugarbeet, sunflower,

sorghum-sudan sweet clover, alfalfa

N-fixation clovers, vetches, lentil, winter pea, chickling vetch, sun hemp, cowpea, soybean

Bio-activation/fumigation brassicas, sorghum-sudan, sun hemp, sesame

Weed suppression brassicas, sorghum-sudan, cereal rye, buckwheat

GRAZING = #1 way to make cover crops pay!

Match CC objectives with species

Page 23: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Oats, turnips, annual ryegrass and wheat

Oats, turnips and cereal rye

Forage kale

Mystery brassica

Page 24: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

On farms with livestock, many failures can be turned into success!

Page 25: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Cover crops (winter or summer) can provide high-

quality forage and increase economic return and farm diversity, but some farmers have been reluctant to take this advantage due to perceived “compaction” caused

by animal trampling.

Grazing of cover crops can compact soil, but not to the detrimental levels often perceived.

Franzluebbers AJ and JA Stuedemann. 2008. Soil physical responses to cattle grazing cover crops under conventional and no tillage in the

Southern Piedmont USA. Soil and Tillage Research 100, 141-153.

Page 26: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN
Page 27: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Crop Rotation on Organic Farms: A Planning Manual provides an

in-depth review of the applications of crop rotation-including

improving soil quality and health, and managing pests, diseases, and

weeds. Consulting with expert organic farmers, the authors share

rotation strategies that can be applied under various field

conditions and with a wide range of crops.

Crop Rotation on Organic Farms is most applicable to farms in the Northeastern United States and

Eastern Canada but is worth a look

Page 28: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Start planning today!

• Anticipate planting windows • Match objectives with species

• Confirm seed availability • Make sure seeding equipment is ready • Identify realistic termination methods

• Allocate labor • Develop contingency plans

Page 29: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

When can you plant CCs?

• Dormant seeding early or late winter

• Frost seeding

• In the spring

• In the spring w/ cash crop

• Prevent plant scenarios

• At last cultivation

• After small grains

• After vegetables

• After seed corn or silage corn

• Aerial or high clearance seeding into standing

crops in late summer/early fall

• After long season crops

Page 30: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

What is this CC?

Phacelia

Page 31: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

WIU Organic research farm – May 2012

Page 32: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Very dense rooting at the

soil surface

Page 33: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN
Page 34: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Mustard variety trial at the Allison farm in early June 2011

Pacific Gold Ida Gold

Slower to mature Faster to mature

More biomass Less biomass

Page 35: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

JD 730 Air-Disk drill on Jack Erisman’s farm in Pana, IL

Jack uses this rig to drill soybeans on 6" rows (~ 280,000/ac) while also dropping ~2 bushel of rye and

some micronutrients

Page 36: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Zumbrun Farm Northern Indiana

Page 37: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN
Page 38: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Drilling cover crops after small grain harvest

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There are many options other than drilling

Page 40: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Magness Farm in Maryland

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Slurry seeding

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Page 44: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

What is PRECISION COVER CROPPING??

1) Planting of cover crops with a precision planter

2) strategic placement of cover crop rows in relation to other cover cover rows and/or the following cash

crop rows (often using GPS guidance)

3) Strategic placement of cover crops in specific fields or parts of fields

4) Selection and management of cover crops to

achieve specific objectives

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Precision planting

Page 46: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

http://www.extension.org/pages/64400/radishes-a-new-cover-crop-for-organic-farming-systems

Page 47: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Insecticide boxes can be used for metering small seeds

Page 48: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Joe Rothermel’s new rig

Page 49: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Cover crops planted with insecticide boxes while stripping

Page 50: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

September 2008

Page 51: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN
Page 52: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Radish planted on 30” rows using small milo plates in mid-August 2010

Attempt #3

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Cover crop system Relative

corn yield

Volunteer oats 79%

Radishes planted on 30” 99%

Radishes drilled on 7.5” 91%

Corn following cover crop experiment (2011)

Corn planted directly over radish rows

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May 2012

Page 55: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Radish planted on 30” rows with RTK guidance on August 29th right before Hurricane Isaac rolled in

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4 days later

Page 57: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN
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7 days after planting

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10 days after planting

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~ 1 month later

Page 61: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN
Page 62: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Why are the inter-rows so clean?

Page 63: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

We had just cultivated the radishes!

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~ 2 weeks later

Page 65: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN
Page 66: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

December 2012

We are planning to “freshen” the radish rows with a Yetter strip till bar before planting corn

directly over the radish rows

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Precision planted radishes w/ peas from 5 ft of row

Precision radishes w/o peas

Page 68: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

What is the optimal seeding rate for precision

planted radishes?

4-6 seeds per foot is probably often the best ROI but ~16 seeds per foot produced

the most biomass for us this fall

higher is probably better the later you plant

Page 69: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Radishes in fall 2011

~ 20 more bushels/a where we cultivated in the fall

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Page 71: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Ridges with dead radish residues

in spring 2011

Page 72: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Planting popcorn on radish ridges

in May 2011

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Planted beautifully but we decided to

replant after a month of relentless

rain :-<

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Fall 2011

Page 75: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Fall 2012

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Crimson clover

Chick peas

Green lentils

Fava beans

Page 77: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Sunflower

Rapeseed

Oats

Phacelia

Page 78: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

We are trying to identify the best combinations of winter hardy

and winter-kill CCs for row and inter-row positions

Page 79: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN
Page 80: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

+20 lbs N/a

A little extra N can make a big difference

Radish biomass = 2X

Page 81: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Preceded by spring planted radish

5 buffer rows were not preceded by a CC

Same planter pass

Most years the extra transpiration would probably have been helpful

on this wet farm

Page 82: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Last summer, we undercut our small grain stubble using a no-till cultivator and a tractor with RTK guidance

Page 83: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN
Page 84: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN
Page 85: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Fallow strip Cover crop cocktail no-till drilled after

undercutting

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Triple S mix Sunflowers, Soybeans & Sunnhemp

Page 87: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Effective multi-tasking or cover crop chaos???

Page 88: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN
Page 89: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

http://greencoverseed.com/

Page 90: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Planting into poorly digested red clover residues

25-50% stand loss Near perfect stands in all other corn

plots on the farm this past spring

Page 91: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Annual ryegrass after chisel plowing

Chisel plowing made the next pass with a rotavator easier and more effective

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Early June 2011

No-till drilling soybeans into standing rye

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15’ wide roller built by a local farmer

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Mid-June 2011

Rolled after drilling

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Early July 2011

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Our conventional-till beans are looking good, right?

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August 2011

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November 2011

The NT bean plots yielded ~10 bu more than the best

tillage system plots

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April 2012

In our experience, a strong stand of rye is critical

Page 100: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Planting into 5-6’ tall rye on May 11

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Double drilled with 4” offset

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June 2012

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All of July :-<

Page 104: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Our 2012 NT bean yields ranged from ~ 30 to ~ 60 bu/a

Better drained areas of the field yielded poorly

Wet hole yielded very well

Page 105: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Cover Crops

Adapted from Magdoff and Weil (2004)

CCs affect many agronomic factors simultaneously

Feed livestock

Control erosion

Page 106: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

? ?

Increase management

Host pests

Become a weed

Prevent soil drying

Dry out soil excessively

Interfere w/ equipment

performance Suppress crop

growth

Tie up N

Add cost

Cover Crops

Adapted from Magdoff and Weil (2004)

Not all effects are positive

Page 107: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

Greater precision in your cover cropping practices will increase the

likelihood of intended outcomes

More positive and fewer negative effects

Page 108: Cover crops for organic field crops in MN

I wish you all success in 2013!