Cover Crop Strategies Podcast

This week’s podcast, sponsored by Yetter Equipment, features an interview with Jeff Vetsch, a researcher at the University of Minnesota Southern Research & Outreach Center in Waseca, Minn., and Anna Cates, Minnesota State Soil Health Specialist. Find out how cover crops protect water quality, how covers can help stem nutrient and sediment loss, which cover crop species are best for improving water quality, and more. The Cover Crop Strategies podcast series is brought to you by Yetter Manufacturing Co. With a tradition of providing solutions since 1930, Yetter Manufacturing Co. is your answer for tools and equipment to face today’s production agriculture demands. From many different designs of planter attachments for the different planting conditions you face, to several options of equipment for placing fertilizer, and products to meet harvest-time challenges, Yetter Manufacturing Co. delivers the return on investment and tools to meet your equipment needs and maximize inputs. Visit them at Yetterco.com.

Jon Stevens, a grower from Rock Creek, Minn., is looking to capture the value of cover crops by grazing cattle on a 30-acre paddock seeded with grasses and cereals. Find out how he intends to try to rotate in corn within 3 years to capture in-field nitrogen.

Joe Ikley, assistant professor and Extension Specialist with North Dakota State University discusses using cover crops for weed suppression. Find out why the timing of seeding cover crops matters, which cover crop species are best for helping control weeds, and how geography influences cover crop species selection and weed suppression.

Tong Wang, Advanced Production Specialist with South Dakota State University Extension, shares results from a study that looked at how growers in the Northern Great Plains adopt soil health practices. The study examined how growers value yield and profitability compared to soil health.

This week’s podcast features an interview with Justin McMechan, assistant professor for crop protection and cropping systems with the University of Nebraska Extension. Learn more about how to integrate cover crops into integrated pest management plans, common pests that can be affected by cover crops, which cover crop species are best for managing pests

Cover crops aren’t just limited to being used with traditional cash crops like corn and soybeans. This week’s podcast, from Hoosier Ag Today and the Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative, discusses the types of cover crops to use with specialty crops, cover crop establishment and crop rotation.

This week’s podcast features three Indiana farmers as they discuss planting cover crops with sweet corn, how no-tilling works in different soil types, retaining moisture with cover crops, and more. This podcast is produced by Hoosier Ag Today and the Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative.

In this podcast from Stroud Water Research Center, host Scott LaMar discusses soil health with Lisa Blazure, Stroud Water Research Center soil health coordinator; Jim Hershey, president of the Pennsylvania No-Till Alliance and Lancaster County, PA, farmer; and Steve Groff, cover crop expert and farmer, also in Lancaster County, PA.

In this podcast from Hoosier Ag Today, Purdue Extension Forage Specialist Dr. Keith Johnson and Forage Agronomist Greg Downing with Cisco Seed discuss harvesting cover crops as forage.

Voles can be an ongoing problem for farmers, but planting cover crops can actually help deter the pests, according to this week’s podcast from Hoosier Ag Today featuring two Purdue University masters students. Find out effective predators for naturally dealing with voles, why voles don’t like brassicas, and why to avoid nitrogen fixing cover crops.

Chris Reynolds, certified crop advisor and resource conservationist from Illinois discusses why species choice is important when analyzing covers, how to determine planting dates for cover crops, when growers should start thinking about covers in the season, and more.

Grazing systems can also gain from the soil health benefits offered by cover crops, according to Matt Poore, Extension Livestock Coordinator and Ruminant Nutrition Specialist with North Carolina State University. In this podcast, Poore discusses using annuals to improve soil health in grazing systems for livestock.

Interest in organic farming has grown in the past several years, and Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff discusses how strategic planning can make a big difference in outcomes. Groff talks about why weed control is the biggest challenge when it comes to no-tilling organic with cover crops. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

If you saw last week’s podcast, we were talking about planting cash crops into heavy covers. This week’s podcast is part 2 of that discussion! Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff talks about what equipment you need to plant into heavy covers, why residue cleaners are important during planting, what problems to expect when planting into heavy residue, and more. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

If wet spring weather has kept you from being able to plant, you may end up planting green into heavy cover crops, according to Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff. Dealing with heavy cover crop residues is doable, but your success depends on using the right equipment and setting it the right way. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

Can manure be successfully used as fertilizer for cover crops? The answer is yes, but how manure is used depends on your goals and situation, says Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff. A few considerations when applying manure to cover crops, particularly in the spring, includes application timing, the growth stage of the cover crop, application rate, application method, and more. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

The new “Rooted Collection” from Wrangler Jeans are made from cotton grown on farms that use cover crops. Roian Atwood, Senior Director of Sustainability with Wrangler & Lee, talks about the opportunity for land stewardship in cotton systems, consumer pressure on corporate decision making, how grazing systems add value to natural systems, and more. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

Dealing with slugs can be a real nuisance for many growers. Dr. John Tooker, Penn State University, discusses how seed treatments influence predator populations in the field, how soybean yields respond when slugs are present in fields with both treated and untreated seed, why predator populations are important in your fields and more. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

Retired engineer Bob Recker is an expert on wide row corn. In this week’s podcast, Recker explains how 60-inch corn rows can improve soil health and water quality, why research and development are happening every day on the farm, and more. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators) Editor’s note: For clarification, there has been no research stating that using 60 inch wide corn rows adds significant financial benefit.

In this week’s podcast, crop insurance expert and Wisconsin farmer Ryan Stockwell with the National Wildlife Federation discusses why crop insurance regulations are outdated, why crop insurance eligibility rules are unfavorable to cover crops, how crop insurance will be evolving, and more. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)