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NW Wisconsin | What are you truely saving if you have snow on the ground the april 20-25th and you are in the fields by the first week in may? So your spending 15$ or more on the seed another 10 to get it in the ground and another 15-20$ to get rid of it in the spring. For what? its just silly. Unless you are on sand that warms up and you can actually get growth out of it. Silt loam soils that are poorly drained and grain corn harvest in november do not make a recipe for great cover crop success. Without government payments to negate the cost it is a loosing proposition. Cover crops have there places but if it is detrimental to your bottom line pride in your cover crops will only keep you afloat so long... Like Ive said before if they were serious about sequestering carbon and reducing erosion and stimulating soil health I would get paid on every acre of alfalfa that I havent ran a piece of tillage equipment though for 5 years and havent sprayed a nasty insecticide that kills multiple non target insects...
I do believe we have a lot of acres that do need cover crops but everyone can get together on the ones that need them.... Corn silage, canning crops, and early soybeans for grain... It is a no brainer to have covers on those and I do believe there is benefits both financially and for the land. But to go in and airflow rye over grain corn and plant a shorter day maturity crop so you can get a cover crop in is just silly. | |
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Fall Cover Crops Boost Soil Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi
