by Jeff Volkert

The cover crop world is ever changing and growing.  Farmers are continuing to try new things on a constant basis.

I visited with a producer in Northeast Indiana that is in year 2 of interseeding cereal rye into his corn while he is applying liquid 28% nitrogen. In year one, his goal was 10# cereal rye/acre as he was unsure of what results and response/success he would have. Overall, he was happy with how it responded but thought that an increase in rate/acre would be beneficial.

At harvest in 2017, his cereal rye was 4-6” tall, was providing fall annual weed control, and was keeping his soil and nutrients in place. He is planting conventional corn and soybeans so he is working closely with his agronomist for his herbicide program and the timing of applications. The cereal rye ground will be soybean acres next year. As you can see in the picture below, he has customized a toolbar for his dual application pass.

This is a cover cropper thinking outside the box. He is willing to try new things to maximize return on his inputs, provide economic efficiency to his operation, and provide an opportunity for his family to continue farming healthy soils in the future.  As you see in the next picture, he isn’t just covering acres, he is heading toward the future.

We are excited to see how this progresses and what new covers he may add to his operation next.