Fall, 2021 Cover Crop Seeding – Using a Drone!

For those familiar with our Cover Crop plots history, one of the issues we have struggled with has been getting cover crops seeded in a timely manner. While we have usually planted shorter season corn and soybeans, we rely on volunteers to take a combine from their farm operation, come to the plots, and harvest …

A Soybean Field After its First Year With a Cereal Rye Cover Crop

In Indiana we have a program funded by the Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Corn Marketing Council and administered by the Indiana State Department of Agriculture called INfield Advantage (INFA). Through INFA farmers enroll a field and implement agronomic practices using a field trial system. Farmers receive data and information about how the adopted practice …

SARE 2019 National Cover Crops Survey Available

The 2019-20 National Cover Crops Survey has been released by Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education or SARE. Among other information, those responding to the survey said that using cover crops allowed them to plant their crops earlier in 2019. The complete survey is available at: 2019-20 SARE National Cover Crops Survey

Prevented Planting and Cover Crops

Here in Central Indiana we are reaching the witching hour, at least when it comes to planting corn. It remains wet, rain is forecast and while farmers have been running hard around the clock, some fields remain unplantable. While many fields will likely be switched over to soybeans I expect we will see significant acres …

Cover Crops Field Day Thursday, November 29, Lebanon, IN

The Boone County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) and Boone County Extension Service are hosting a Cover Crops Field Day on Thursday, November 29 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The program will be held in the Annex Building at the Boone County 4-H Fairgrounds at 1300 E 100 S in Lebanon. The program …

Cover Crops Field Day, Tuesday November 29

The Boone County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) and Boone County Extension Service are hosting a Cover Crops Field Day on Tuesday, November 29 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The program will be held in the Annex Building at the Boone County 4-H Fairgrounds, located at 1300 E 100 S, Lebanon, Indiana. The …

Fall, 2016 Cover Crops Planted

The cover crop strips were planted on October 18 this year. We planted four different "treatments." These are: Cereal Rye, seeded at a rate of 50 pounds per acre A mix of Barley, Rape, and Vetch. Barley @ 33lb/ac, Rape @ 2.66 lb/ac, Vetch @ 10 lb/ac Annual Ryegrass, Vetch, Crimson Clover, and Rape. Annual Rye @ …

The last of our cover crop planting is done!

As the picture shows, the four primary treatments for the cover crop plots are looking great, an inch of rain with warm temps has really helped. Today, November 4th, the last cover crop plot was planted, our "Late Cereal Rye" plot. A planting date around November 1st is outside of the conventional wisdom for planting …

30 Days After Planting the Cover Crop Plots

We planted the cover crop plots with a No-Till drill, this allowed us to maximize soil-to-seed contact, while protecting the corn crop residue on the ground surface. We want maximum soil-seed contact to promote germination and fast growth, while protecting the crop residue to minimize soil erosion, keeping valuable soil & nutrients in our field, …