Farmers are getting higher yields than ever before and are trying to keep their soil healthy by replacing organic matter with increased use of cover crops.
That includes crops like corn, where cover crops haven't done well in the past because the tall crop creates too much shade.
Ridgetown researcher Dave Hooker says the cover crops still provide a benefit, it just takes a little longer.
"The cover crop is under extreme competition during the early phase,during the grain fill period theoretically the leaves start to (mature) and that provides opportunity for the cover crop to capture those resources," he says. "We are looking at the yield effect as it affects the system, so next year we'll be planting no-till soybeans into our corn after the interseeding to see if there are any carry-over effects."
Hooker is hoping to be able to continue the experiment because one year of data isn't going to be enough to show the full effects.
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Hooker says the cover crops in corn still provide a benefit - it just takes a little longer.
[audio mp3="http://blackburnnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/HOOKER-Cover-1.mp3"][/audio]
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He says it likely won't increase yields this year, but will get more organic matter into the soil to improve it for future years.
[audio mp3="http://blackburnnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/HOOKER-Cover-2.mp3"][/audio]
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Hooker says he's hoping to continue the experiment because one year of data isn't going to be enough to show the full effects.
[audio mp3="http://blackburnnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/HOOKER-Cover-3.mp3"][/audio]
