The 2024 Milan No-Till Field Day, hosted by the University of Tennessee Agricultural Institute on July 25, was probably the nicest field day of the year. It was an overcast day with mild temperatures – for summertime.

They’ve been at it since 1981 and the concept seems to have taken root, at least in western Tennessee, where the University estimates between 80% to 90% of growers have some kind of conservation tillage in their operation. Cover crops are a huge part of that effort.

Nationwide, according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture, cover crop acreage has increased 17% since the 2017 Census, from 15,390,674 acres to 17,985,831 acres. While that seems like a large number, it is only 4.7% of total cropland in the U.S.

You have heard this before, but USDA has said cover crops provide “living, seasonal soil cover between the planting of two cash (commodity) or forage crops. Including cover crops in a rotation can provide benefits such as improved soil health and water quality, weed suppression, and reduced soil erosion.”

Many areas cannot sustain a cover crop like we do in the Midsouth, given low precipitation in areas like the desert Southwest. Soil type, cropping systems and regional incentive programs also influence where cover crops are incorporated into the rotation.

Maryland has the highest cover crop use in the U.S., according to the USDA. I toured the region several years ago and was told that the biggest incentive for intensified cover crop use was to protect the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay, which had seen a reduction in productivity partially due to animal waste runoff. Maryland is a national leader in broiler chicken production.

Texas has surprisingly, to me at least, made one of the largest leaps to cover crops in the U.S., from 2017 to 2022. Acreage in the state has gone up more than 50% - from 1,014,145 acres in 2017 to 1,550,789 acres in 2022.

Farmers in the Midsouth are working on ways to include cover crops in more untraditional crop partnerships. 2024 Peanut Efficiency Award winner Drew Parrish noted he was going to try spreading a cover crop in his peanuts just prior to digging. His idea is that perhaps the soil that gets turned over and covered while harvesting will give the cover time to establish some growth before the winter temperatures slow it down.

I’m always surprised when I see cotton planted into a tall grass cover, but Arkansas grower Steve Stevens showed me some of his young cotton coming up in a knee-high cover that looked healthy and ready to put on some growth.

NRCS, Extension services, soil and conservation districts and even some private enterprises and consultants can help growers determine what covers are best to pair with their regular crops and soil types.

A visit to the next cover crop or no-till field day wouldn’t hurt either.