stampmaint1 - 9/9/2016 18:56

I need some help understanding why cover crops have become such of a needed thing after fall harvest. I was born in the early 1960s. I remember the old timers using cover crops when changing over from corn to wheat. I remember reading and hearing that it became a big deal during the dust bowl years, 1930s. A real old guy I remember when I was young spoke highly of red clover for cover crops. Remember this was in summer fallow ground. I can see with that many warm growing months that it would have enough time to grow till he would plow it up and plant wheat. It will be October before I combine anything. I would be lucky if anything grew behind the combine even if I had someone plant it the same day as the field was cut. November is considered the month to dormant plant grass seed. I am in southeast Nebraska. Now consider that the plant emerges and survives winter or comes up in the spring. I would be killing it in late March or early April. Why all the bother?