
Already have an account?
Is your farm covered?
That’s an important question to answer. We aren’t talking about crop insurance or farm liability. We are talking about cover crops.
The 2022 USDA Census of Agriculture found steady growth in the number of acres being planted annually to cover crops, both in Nebraska and the U.S. In Nebraska, for instance, about 4.4% of all cropland is being planted to cover crops. That seems rather small, but looking at cover-cropping strategies, there are major obstacles to adoption, especially for High Plains farmers across the upper Plains states, where soil moisture is at a premium.
What are the biggest holdups in adoption? We asked three farmers who are cover crop veterans to give us the top challenges they believe farmers struggle with in adding cover crops to their operations. But we dug deeper into the discussion and asked what they believe are solutions to these obstacles.
Top challenges
Don Batie farms with his wife Barb and their family in Dawson County, Neb. They are experienced cover croppers and have participated over the years in Nebraska’s On-Farm Research program with studies related to cover crops on their farm.
After 13 growing seasons using cover crops, Batie says the greatest challenge is “utilizing cover crops in continuous corn or after a corn crop because there isn’t enough growing weather left after harvest” to get a cover crop established.
Experimenting with several cover crop mixes, Batie explains that most of their fall-seeded mixtures start with winter wheat and add turnips, canola, vetch and others.
“After the wheat in the summer, I start with forage sorghum/sedan grass and add soybeans, turnips and radishes,” he says. “The inter-seeding covers include a broad mix of grasses, legumes and brassicas. I’ve tried inter-seeding a cover crop at V2-V3, and it works OK, but it is a challenge getting the right herbicide program, so you keep the weeds out but allow the cover to grow.”
Keith Berns is a farmer and co-founder of Green Cover, a family and farm-based cover crop seed company in Webster County near Bladen, Neb., where he works with his family, including his brother Brian.
From their customers and practical experience on their own farm, Berns says the top three challenges he hears about cover cropping are that it takes too much soil moisture, the “how and when” of cover crop termination, and difficulties in finding the best cover crops for each farming situation.
Termination timing
“I think there are the most questions about termination — both the methods and the timing,” Berns says. “And it is a legitimate concern because proper termination is one of the keys to making sure the cover crop does not hurt the following cash crop.”
Berns explains that the “easy” button for termination is planting a diverse cover crop in late summer after a summer-harvested crop such as oats, wheat, rye or peas, for instance, and designing a mix so that all of the species will die out at frost or during winter, because that takes the decision-making out of spring termination.
“For fall-planted and overwintering cover crops, as a general rule, we would encourage farmers with less experience to start with fairly basic and simple cover crops,” he says, “like cereal rye planted after corn harvest, and then plant soybeans into that cover the following year.” For those with less experience in cover cropping, Berns also suggests leaning toward terminating sooner rather than later until they get a feel for how to manage cover crops that grow later into the season.
Experimenting at first with a smaller portion of a field, testing with more diversity and later termination to gain experience in managing those decisions also is advised.
Jeff Steffen, who farms with his wife Jolene in Cedar County, Neb., is used to hearing the detractors of cover crops and the challenges. But Steffen knows these challenges firsthand from testing cover crops regularly over the years, making mistakes, putting numbers to his practices and tweaking treatments to make things work better.
Addressing worries
From a presentation Steffen was working on for a farmer meeting, he shares four big concerns that he hears all the time. The worry about cover crops taking moisture from cash crops tops the list, but he also hears farmers concerned about giving up soil nutrients to cover crops.
The cost, which can be substantial, is a concern for farmers, Steffen says, along with the time it takes to seed them.
But there are other legitimate concerns Steffen hears. “It’s hard to change,” he says. “You have to have the knowledge on how to begin a whole new level of management in your operation.”
Steffen also cites a fear of loss of income, which farmers can ill afford these days. But Steffen notes that there are “a ton of incentives out there for people who are wanting to start.” Those incentives that are available from federal, state, local and private sources help farmers to get started. “It pays for the learning-curve mistakes,” he says. “After that, cover crops need to pay their own way and add to the profitability of the farm.”
He notes that many farmers worry that they do not currently possess the equipment necessary to manage cover crops. “I do believe that having a good drill is a necessity,” he says. “It has become my most important farm tool. It seeds all my cover crops and cash crops except for corn, and it needs to always be ready for timely seeding. I actually could get by with a smaller corn planter.”
Peer pressure
What will the neighbors think? That’s a big worry for many, Steffen says. “If you are going to try cover crops, maybe start with one field,” he advises. “But also, before you start, you must understand what you are trying to accomplish.
“Go to a soil health conference or get in touch with a local network of regenerative farmers, if possible. Understand soil health principles. Anytime you have a negative outcome, you can usually trace it back to not following one or more of those principles.”
Steffen adds that farmers should “keep it simple, because it doesn’t have to be that complicated.”
Having the right mindset may be the most important advice from Steffen. “There will be setbacks, but the journey is very educational, and it makes farming fun again,” he says.
Resources
Where can you learn more? Here is a short list of a few available resources:
Nebraska Soil Health Coalition, nesoilhealth.org
University of Nebraska Soil Health Program, cropwatch.unl.edu/soil-health-program
USDA NRCS Nebraska Soil Health, nrcs.usda.gov/conservation-basics/conservation-by-state/nebraska/nebraska-soil-health
Nebraska Association of Natural Resources Districts (your local NRD), nrdnet.org
About the Author
You May Also Like