Cover Crop Strategies Podcast

The carbon-to-nitrogen ratio is a critical number to know when planning for both cover crops and cash crops, according to Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff. The C:N ratio affects decomposition rates for crop residues and impacts nitrogen cycling as well. Understanding the C:N ratio helps growers be better managers in the context of overall soil health and fertilizer use. Groff shares why this often-overlooked aspect is critical to making good decisions when growing covers. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

Preparation is important to succeeding with cover crop management and there are several areas of decision making that can have a significant impact, says Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

Hungary is the destination for this week’s podcast, as Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff shares his observations from visiting the country for their first-ever soil health conference. Hungarian growers are just becoming more interested in cover crops and no-till, despite the fact that they plow up to 90% of their land. Groff explains why it’s important to review the basics of cover cropping, why radishes are the best choice for a beginning cover crop, what lupins are, and much more.

Climate change is one of those hot-button topics that everyone has an opinion on. Regardless of the cause, science has shown that global temperatures are rising, and agriculture will have to adapt in order to continue feeding the world. Could cover crops be a tool to help reduce the affects of climate change? Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff weighs in on this controversial topic, including how growers can make a difference in reducing carbon dioxide emissions, how cover crops sequester carbon, how well managed grazing fits in and more.

Determining the best time to plant covers is a critical element to their success. It’s important to know how late in the season you can plant covers to plan buying cover crop seed and working around potential fall inclement weather. Steve Groff, a grower from Holtwood, Pa., shares his thoughts on what has affected cover crop planting dates in the past 20 years, including no-till, mixed species covers, higher biological activity, winter hardiness of cultivars and new cover crop cultivars.

Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff shares his insights from visiting France and what American growers can learn from what is being done overseas. French growers are dealing with a ban on glyphosate, the impacts of organic agriculture, farming on steep slopes and more.

Have you ever considered growing your own cover crop seed? It can be done—and in ways that will not get you into legal trouble. There is a gauntlet of rules and regulations around growing your own seed, and this podcast provides tips on how to follow those rules. Steve Groff, cover crop expert from Pennsylvania, discusses the differences in growing cover crop seed for your own use versus growing cover crop seed to resell, knowing the difference between a brand and variety, how to assign lot numbers, and more.

Planting is always a challenging process, but planting cover crops can take that challenge to the next level with different seed shapes, sizes and densities. Each type of cover crop requires that the planter be calibrated differently, and multi-species mixes make it even more puzzling to find the best calibration. Whether you use a drill or a planter can also impact your approach. Steve Groff, Pennsylvania cover crop expert, shares some different methods for calibrating drills and planters to prepare for planting cover crops. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

It's a bit more challenging to fit cover crops into a tillage system, but there are opportunities if you create them, says Steve Groff. The Cover Crop Coach and Holtwood, Pa., grower will share different ways row crop farmers and even vegetable farmers in the U.S. and overseas are getting cover crops seeded into tilled fields to control erosion and replenish soils.

When planting cover crops, there are three factors to keep in mind in the context of using herbicides to control weeds: the herbicide half-life, the amount of rainfall received and the amount of organic matter. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

More growers are increasingly becoming interested in raising organic crops. While food-grade organic crops merit a larger return on investment, they also require a high level of quality and present unique challenges in marketing those crops. This podcast is brought to you, courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators

Strip tilling with cover crops is taking off in many regions of the U.S. and is relatively inexpensive. Seeding cover crops can occur during fall strip-tilling but comes with its own challenges in the spring. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

The concept of planting cash crops into living cover crops is gaining more momentum among growers every year. But is your planter and management up for the task? (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

Cover crops certainly produce a lot of benefits for growers in terms of soil health and nutrient management — but how, exactly, do you make them pay? Steve Groff says there are a several directions to go in that will build a solid foundation for economic benefits. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

The period after wheat harvest in many states provides a golden opportunity for growers to add some diverse cover crop mixes in their fields that provide numerous benefits. But which species are best suited for this planting window and what’s the best way to establish them? (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

Mixing radish seed with cash grain wheat has led to yield increases of up to 12 bushels per acre in some areas. The synergy was discovered by accident by late no-tiller Ed Winkle of Ohio after a hired worker left radishes in a seed mixer. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

In the second part of a two-part series on this topic, Holtwood, Pa., farmer and Cover Crop Coach Steve Groff will discuss management decisions for rolling with or without using herbicides, the weed-control potential of rolled covers, using cover crop mixes in this type of system, and how to evaluate whether your planter can work effectively in rolled covers. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, we share a Q&A interview with senior editor John Dobberstein and Rob Myers, regional director of extension programs for Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE).

In the first part of a two-part series on this topic, the Holtwood, Pa., farmer and cover crop coach will discuss some strategies for succeeding with a roller-crimper system, including what realistic expectations should be for results, which cover crop species are best to roll and proper seeding rates. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

Many grower avoid planting corn into fields where cereal rye has been seeded over fears that allelopathic issues from decomposing rye will stunt corn growth and ding yields. But Steve Groff believes allelopathy is often mis-diagnosed and yellow corn could be related to other management issues. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

Herbicides can be tricky to work around when cover crops are included in the rotation. What do you need to know in order to maximize the effectiveness of cover crops? (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

In this podcast Cover Crop Coach Steve Groff will lead a discussion that defines what arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is, what it does for plant growth, and the factors that discourage or encourage AMF — including what cover crop species are hosts and those that are not. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

In this podcast the Holtwood, Pa., grower and Cover Crop Coach will discuss many factors that affect winter hardiness ratings, including planting date, temperatures, snow cover, wind chill, freeze-thaw cycles and more. And he’ll share some important questions to ask about winter hardiness when purchasing seed for your farm.

It’s often been said “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.” But developing a reliable process to research the benefits and effects of cover crops on the farm, and produce information that is useful, can be a challenge for some growers.

Slugs can be the worst enemy for growers utilizing no-till practices and cover crops in certain regions of the U.S. as the creatures thrive in potentially cool, wet conditions as cash crops emerge. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

Unfortunately there are some years when fields just don't get planted to a cash crop. But this can open up an opportunity to plant a wide range of species of cover crops to make soils more productive in the future, says Steve Groff. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

One of the easiest strategies to getting cover crops seeded earlier in fields — and getting more growth, better erosion control, more nitrogen scavenging and the like — is utilizing shorter-season corn hybrids. Improved genetics available today can provide growers more options without sacrificing too much yield.

Every grower wants to know how to make cover crops pay off on their farm but there can be myriad challenges, including climate. One approach is interseeding covers into standing corn to increase the amount of growing time and benefits rendered by covers to farm operations. Ag conservation consultant Dan Towery and Cover Crop Coach Steve Groff will talk about how to get started, equipment choices, the best time for interseeding, what cover crop species work best and issues with residual herbicides to be aware of. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

The temptation with some growers starting out with cover crops might be to start reducing nutrient application rates right away in anticipation of a bump in nitrogen fixation and improved nutrient availability. But nutrient management with cover crops can be tricky and there are some precautionary measures to follow to ensure your cash crops don’t suffer.

Planting cash crops “green” into living cover crops is a concept gaining a lot of momentum among growers. But is your planter and cover crop management up for the task? Cover Crop Coach Steve Groff shares some important insights that will get you off to a successful start planting green. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)