Joel Gruver WIU- Agriculture

j-gruver@wiu.edu (309) 298 1215

Precision Cover Cropping for organic farms

Are you using precision ag technologies?

Attention to detail is key to success in all types of farming

Have you ever had a bird’s eye view of your farm?

Whatever skill level you bring to the table

can be augmented by GPS guidance technology

No-tilling soybeans into 5-6’ tall cereal rye

Undercutting small grain stubble prior

to planting summer CCs (2 passes w/ 15” offset)

Fallow strip Cover crop cocktail no-till drilled after

undercutting

Triple S mix Sunflowers, Soybeans & Sunnhemp

Dad… just think

what we can do

with RTK guidance

on this farm!

Are you familiar with the term

Precision Conservation?

cover cropping organic farming

What is PRECISION COVER CROPPING???

1) Selection and management of cover crops to achieve specific objectives

2) Strategic placement of cover crops in specific

fields or parts of fields

3) Planting of cover crops with a precision planter

4) strategic placement of cover crop rows in relation to other cover cover rows and/or the following cash

crop rows (often using GPS guidance)

2012 – SARE

Survey Results

Compaction alleviation

Erosion reduction

Higher

priorities

for organic

farmers?

Weed control

Increased yields

Nitrogen source

www.cheneylakewatershed.org/newsletter/2008-Fall.pdf

2012 – SARE

Survey Results

Establishment

Time/labor requirements

Species selection

Termination???

The information is based on the best judgment of the

farmer/industry/agency/academic experts from around

the state who participated in customizing the tool.

cash

crop

season

Other attributes

#1 way to

make cover

crops pay

• Cover crops (winter or summer) can provide high-

quality forage and increase economic return and

farm diversity, but some farmers have been

reluctant to take this advantage due to perceived

“compaction” caused by animal trampling.

• Grazing of cover crops can compact soil, but

not to the detrimental levels often perceived.

Franzluebbers AJ and JA Stuedemann. 2008.

Soil physical responses to cattle grazing cover

crops under conventional and no tillage in the

Southern Piedmont USA.

Soil and Tillage Research 100, 141-153.

www.weather.com/outdoors/agriculture/growing-degree-days/

Relative GDD

LT Average

2011 2012

Aug 1 100% 2107 2209 2317

Aug 15 78% 1653 1739 1813

Sept 1 53% 1125 1180 1253

Sept 15 35% 745 766 865

Oct 1 19% 409 490 600

Oct 15 10% 202 338 307

Nov 1 2% 43 150 166

Growing Degree Days - Aledo, IL ( date -> 12/31, base 40)

There is substantial variation between years.

**If fall growth is key, plant before 9/1**

The new version of

Green Cover Seed’s

Smart Mix Calculator will

include a GDD calculator

More farmer friendly

technologies are needed

http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/34720/pnw636.pdf

New publication

We have made some progress in predicting plant available N

How many of you have

grassed waterways (or

other conservation

structures) on your farm?

Targeted planting of cover crops should

be able to increase the performance of

conservation structures

Targeted planting of cover crops may be

able to substitute for conservation

structures

Cover crops can provide

beneficial insect habitat

along field borders

3 way mixtures along a

field border

Cover crop cocktail

containing rapeseed, radish,

sunflower, buckwheat, corn

and soybeans drilled into a

drown-out area

Aerial application can

target specific parts of

fields or adjust the rate of

application across fields.

The row-bot can

be used to seed

cover crops one

row at a time.

The maximum

payload of 400 lbs

= cover crop seed

for many acres.

This is how I did interseeding

with rye and radishes this year.

It took about 5 hrs to cover 15

acres of standing 36" corn.

Wasn't able to get a plane so

this is what I came up with. It

worked really well surprisingly. I

will be buying a high boy to

convert next year to do cover

crop seeding and spraying with.

NRCS dead line is Sept 15 so I

had to just get it done this year.

Had one close encounter with a

coyote but he was moving pretty

quick.

“I had a hat, safety glasses, full face shield, gloves, long

sleeve shirt with a regular t-shirt over it, jeans and boots.

Only skin showing was on the back of my neck. This is a

buyers seeder had a flow control valve on the bottom and

I could turn the spinner on and off on the bike. I pretty

well kept moving and would stop very few rows to fill. Had

my dad running around on the ranger with seed, water,

rags and gas. We pre-measured an acre at a time he had

it ready when I would get to the end row. I could spread 7

but I overlapped one on each side my goal was 35lbs an

acre rye and 2lbs an acre radishes. So I went about every

5-6 rows. Speed wasn't a problem since I stayed in 1st

gear and pretty consistent. After the first 2 loads we had it

pretty dialed in.”

Opportunities for planting cover crops • Dormant seeding early or late winter

• Frost seeding

• When planting summer crops

• Prevent plant scenarios

• After weed-free window

• After small grains

• After vegetables

• After seed corn or silage corn

• Aerial or high clearance seeding into standing crops in late summer/early fall

• After early corn/bean grain harvest

• After full season corn/bean grain harvest

Clean corn through the rest of the season

= missed opportunity

Durivage Farm

Ontario, CA

Durivage Farm

Ontario, CA

Zumbrun Farm Northern Indiana

http://talk.newagtalk.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=338536

“I broadcast 10 lbs/acre of crimson clover at

sidedress time (6/6/12). We got essentially no rain

from the first week of May until the last week of

July. I figured the clover wouldn't grow, but it laid

there until we got rain and by harvest we had a

nice stand.

I'm not sure how this would work in a 'normal'

year, but it sure worked good this year. I left some

check strips and the clover didn't affect the yield.

The seeder was just an old 12V spinner seeder I

clamped onto our N toolbar”

I wonder how well

this crimson clover

over-wintered?

Precision planting

http://www.extension.org/pages/64400/radishes-a-new-cover-crop-for-organic-farming-systems

September 2008

Attempt #1

Attempt #2

Radish planted on 30” rows using small milo plates in mid-August 2010

Attempt #3

Cover crop system Relative

corn yield

Volunteer oats 79%

Radishes planted on 30” 99%

Radishes drilled on 7.5” 91%

Corn following cover crop experiment (2011)

b

a

a

Attempt #4

Corn planted over radish rows w/o GPS guidance

Radishes in fall 2011

Attempt #5

May 2012 +20 bu/a corn in plots

w/ fall cultivation of radish vs. no fall cultivation

Radish planted on 30” rows with RTK guidance on August 29th right before Hurricane Isaac rolled in

Attempt #6

4 days later

10 days after planting

~ 1 month later

Why are the inter-rows so clean?

We had just cultivated the radishes!

~ 2 weeks later

December 2012

Precision planted radishes w/ peas from 5 ft of row

Precision radishes w/o peas

What is the optimal population for precision planted radishes?

The full seeding rate (~ 11 lbs per acre,

~16 seeds per foot) ended up producing

the most root and shoot biomass

Planting corn was a real

struggle due to the extreme

wetness in spring 2013

We seriously considered abandoning our

controlled traffic plans but ended up

prepping the field for planting with

a high residue cultivator.

Planting into weedy ridges fully tested our 4 row ridge-till

planter but we ended up with 20 – 28K across the field

Yields ranged from ~160 to ~ 190

bu/acre with no significant

differences between treatments

We are encouraged to continue with our strategic

row placement research

Crimson clover

Chick peas

Green lentils

Fava beans

Sunflower

Rapeseed

Oats

Phacelia

Planted with a drill in late September 2012

Radish

Cereal Rye

Radish Radish

Cereal Rye

Fall 2013 Attempt #7

?

?

----- Original Message -----

From: "Thomas Björkman" <tnb1@CORNELL.EDU>

To: MCCC@LIST.MSU.EDU

Sent: Saturday, March 1, 2014 6:58:34 AM

Subject: Re: : winter hardiness of winter lentil and common vetch

Fast-growing in the fall and winter-hardy may be a difficult

combination to obtain.

For many fall-established annual and biennial species, it is only

the seedling that will harden off well. Once the plant begins to

grow, the ability to harden is much reduced. As a rule of thumb, to

get maximum hardiness the seedling should be large enough that

the root is anchored against frost heaving, but not so big that the

stem is growing.

A couple of familiar examples; Winter-hardy small grains make

more stems in the fall but they do not grow; winter hardy crucifers

remain rosettes (no stem enlargement), but make more leaves.

+20 lbs N/a

A little extra N can make a big difference

Preceded by spring planted radish :-<

Moisture

depletion by

CCs had a high

price in 2012

Why is there rapeseed on the edge of this bean field?

Insecticide boxes can be used for metering small seeds

Joe Rothermel’s new rig

Cover crops planted with insecticide boxes while stripping

April 2012

Soybeans double drilled with 4” offset

Over a month with almost no growth

NT bean yields ranged from ~ 30 to ~ 60 bu/a

Greater precision in your cover cropping practices should increase the

likelihood of intended outcomes

More positive and fewer negative effects

This is what we were hoping for!

This is what we ended up with :-<

I wish you all success in 2014!