I shared this presentation at the CCA conference in Springfield IL on 12/11/2014

1. The Value of Cover Crops
2014 and beyond
Joel Gruver
WIU Agriculture
J-gruver@wiu.edu

2. Ever seen anything like this?

3. Champaign Cty, IL

4. How about this?

5. This is not your grandfather’s
CC planting equipment!
Sciota, IL

6. 1922

11. Unprecedented farmer interest
has been a key driver of the
cover crop revolution

12. 1 week

13. Farmer to farmer communication about
CCs facilitated by the internet and digital
cameras has stoked the fire

14. 2012 – SARE Survey
Results

16. Seed vendors have have played a key
role in the CC revolution

17. How much is
good
technical
support
worth to
farmers?

18. http://www.greencoverseed.com/

21. Cover crop FAQ on FARMWEEKNOW.COM
Q. Which cover crops collect/remove nitrogen (N) the quickest or most efficiently?
Q: How do I determine which cover crops are best suited for my soils and typography?
Q. What is the carbon-nitrogen penalty, meaning how many units of carbon to how
many units of nitrogen? How do I account for that?
Q. I am just starting to grow cover crops. Which ones are easier to start with? Which
ones should I stay away from?
Q. Can I plant cover crops on fields in continuous corn?
Q: Which cover crops are better for weed control?
Q. We’ve had trouble getting a good stand of cover crops the last two years. Last year,
we planted cereal rye and radishes on the corn ground going into soybeans. We
planted cereal rye, radish and crimson clover with a plane on ground going into corn.
Our fields are in northeast St. Clair County.
Q. A Monmouth farmer asks, “Is there a better product and/or faster working product
than what I’m doing if the rye has any size to it? Burndown of annual rye is frustrating
and slow. I was told to always use Roundup 32-44 oz., 1 pt. 24-D, A.M.S. on the first
trip. Then the second trip put down my residual. Sometimes with the wet and busy
spring, it is tough to fit in. I want to keep a cover crop on in the winter.”
Q: When cover crops decompose, what amounts of nitrogen do they contribute back
into the soil?
Q: What should I consider about reliability of cover crop seed sources? What about
seed mixes?

22. Each Q is answered by multiple IL CC specialists

24. No chapter on cover crop economics !

25. +30

27. ~200 profiles since 2008

31. What role should
CCAs play in
cover crop
decision making?

32. Well… what do you
want your cover
crop to do for you?

33. Where are the best places for
cover crops on your farm?
When is the best time for
establishment and termination?
What needs to be adjusted
to find the best fit?

34. Are you familiar with the term
Precision Conservation?

35. CCs affect many agronomic factors
simultaneously
Cover
Crops
Adapted from Magdoff and Weil (2004)
Feed
livestock
Control
erosion

36. Not all effects are positive
? ?
Host
pests
Increase
management
Become a
weed
Prevent
soil drying
Interfere w/
equipment
performance
Dry out soil
excessively
Suppress crop
growth
Tie up N
Add cost
Cover
Crops
Adapted from Magdoff and Weil (2004)

37. Can you think of any ag
technologies that substitute
for management skill?

38. Wow...cover crops
are not idiot-proof!
Cover crops require and reward management
more than broadly adapted technologies

40. Miguez, F.E. and G.A. Bollero. 2005. Review of corn yield
response under winter cover cropping systems using meta-analytic
methods. Crop Science. 45:2318-2329.

41. Carlson, S. 2013. Winter rye cover crop effect on grain crop
yields: Year 4. Practical Farmers of Iowa. Ames, Iowa.

42. #1 way to make
cover crops pay!!!

43. EQIP CSP

44. DIRECT COSTS OF CC
Material costs
•seed
•inoculant
•herbicide
•fertilizer
Operational costs
•establishing
•terminating
•managing residues

45. +20 lbs N/a

46. Preceded by
spring planted radish

47. Per acre costs of cover crop planting operations
based on custom rate surveys
Field operation IA* IL IN* MO*
Fertilizer buggy 4.15 (1.50-
7.50)
4.72 (3.07-6.37) 4.97 (3-15) fert
6.02 (3.50-15)
fert+seed
Harrowing 8.10 (4-
12.50)
6.78 (3-12)
Cultipacking 6.55 (3-10) 8.50 (5-15)
Broadcast w/ ATV 10.35 (8-12) 7.44 (3-12.50)
Conv. grain drill 13 (7.50-20) 11.40 15.89 (13.63-
18.15) s
13 (8-24) sg
14.09 (10-24) gc
No-Till grain drill 15.35 (12-25) 14.60 14.47 (10.80-
18.14)
14.80 (10-24) s
14.25 (5-25) sg
Air seeder 16.40

48. Examples of total cover crop management programs ($/ac)
Costs Program 1 Program 2 Program 3 Program 4
Seed 11.25 7.50 11.25 9.00
Seeding operation 4.15 15.00 10.00 1 0 . 0 0
Seed incorporation 6.50
Herbicide 2.00 2.00
Termination
6.50 6.50
operation
Total 30.40 31.00 21.25 19.00
Program 1
Seed: 90 lbs/ac cereal rye
Seeding operation: spread w/fertilizer buggy
Seed incorporation: rolling stalk chopper
Herbicide: 24 oz. glyphosate
Termination operation: 90’ boom spray rig
Program 3
Seed: 90 lbs of cereal rye
Seed bed preparation: none
Seeding operation: aerial seeding
Herbicide: no added cost, burn-down standard
Termination operation: no added cost, burn-down standard
Program 2
Seed: 60 lbs/ac cereal rye
Seed bed preparation: none
Seeding operation: no-till drill
Herbicide: 24 oz. glyphosate
Termination operation: 90’ boom spray rig
Program 4
Seed: 3 bushels of bin-run oats
Seed bed preparation: none
Seeding operation: aerial seeding
Herbicide: none – winter-kill
Termination operation: none – winter-kill

49. IA and IL Aerial Applicator Survey (May-June 2010)
Name Location Experience w/CC Cost
Cady Aerial Spray Rock Falls, IL
no exp., no customer
interest $8.00/a norm app $8.50/a cc
Benoit Aerial
Spraying Kankakee, IL turnips and rye $8.00/a norm app $10.00/a cc
Franks Flying
Service Morrison, IL ryegrass and c. rye $8.00/a norm app $10.00/a cc
Reeds Fly-on
Farming Mattoon, IL
yes, c. rye, small part
of business $8.00/a norm app $12.00/a cc
Killiam Flying
Service Carlinville, IL
rye, wheat on beans,
rye on corn
$8.00/a norm app $10.00/ac
or 10/lb
Curless Flying
Service Astoria, IL ryegrass and turnips $8-15.00/a all app.
Klein Flying
St. Francisville,
Service
IL annual rye and turnips
~$12.50/a cc, $9.00/a liquid
app
Agriflite Services Wakarusa, IN rye, wheat, ryegrass ave $15.00/a for cc app.
Al's Aerial
Spraying Ovid, MI rye and wheat
$10-15.00/a cc $10.00/a
liquid

50. IL CC Business Directory

51. ?

52. Opportunities for planting cover crops
• Dormant seeding early or late winter
• Frost seeding
• In the spring
• When planting summer crops
• Prevent plant scenarios
• Before canopy closure
• After small grains
• After vegetables
• After seed corn or silage corn
• Aerial or high clearance seeding into standing crops in late
summer/early fall as canopy opens
• After early corn/bean grain harvest
• After full season corn/bean grain harvest

54. PSU
interseeder
crimson
clover and
annual
ryegrass are
very shade
tolerant

55. West Union, IA

57. I run a delayed burn down..... Usually mid to late May.
I have switched back to older chems..... I miss the Callisto, we’re supposed to
only get a few weeks residual, but 2yrs ago I seeded some clover every week til
August..... In August, still fried clover after emergence. With that said, I did
have a bunch of clover pop the next spring, just doubt I got much benefit from
it..... Since it showed up about the week I sprayed.

58. This is how you begin!

60. Corvus Atrazine
WIU student
Flexstar
project
Lexar Halex

63. Ghosts of cover crops past: quantifying the effects of
cover crops on subsequent crop-weed-soil interactions
http://agroecologyunh.blogspot.com/2013/08/student-research-using-phytometer-to.html

65. With hairy vetch, a rule of thumb is to cut a
4-foot-by-4-foot area and weigh it. Then
multiply the weight by 25 to calculate total
nitrogen produced. Figure half of that is
available to crop in next 60 days. If the vetch is
tilled into soil, more nitrogen is available sooner.

69. Cover crops should not be viewed as the missing
puzzle piece(s) in current cropping systems!

70. Perennial-based
crop rotations
Winter cover crops
Permanent pasture systems Perennial bio-energy crops

71. RYE

73. …while also
improving soil
health

74. Same soil type
and landscape position
Crop Fence row
Students in my Soil Properties class just finished
analyzing paired soils from their farms

76. < -- Spring
WIU Organic Research farm
Next fall -->
Some things
are priceless
Student’s
home farm