The arrival of continuous no-till farming — and more recently, cover crops — has been slower in south-central Kansas than in many parts of the country.

Part of the reason is cultural — fertile soils, adequate rainfall and a tradition in some areas of continuous wheat have made many farmers reluctant to try no-till and have discouraged those who have. After all, the experience of no-till in wheat on wheat has hardly been a positive one for most people.

What people may have missed is the message that continuous mono-crop anything is not good for your soil or the overall environment, says cover crop seedsman Jason Stucky. His company, Cover Crop Club, is based outside of Valley Center.

HEAVY MULCH: A tool to crimp and kill tall, standing cover crops while opening a row for planting a new crop is now being sold in Kansas. It is the ZRX from Dawn Equipment Co. and is available at New Ag Supply. The tool provides a way to kill cover crops without using herbicide.

"Crop rotation is part of the message," Stucky says. "It's about diversity, about combinations that work with nature."

The original philosophy of cover crops was to plant them after the harvest of one cash crop and chemically kill them before the planting of a subsequent crop. Now, many cover crop enthusiasts are suggesting that a better way is never to spray the cover crop.

In line with that thought, Stucky and partner Brian Sieker at New Ag Supply, an equipment dealership, are pairing up to offer Kansas producers a local dealer for the ZRX from Dawn Equipment Co., a machine that can handle standing green covers as well as standing cornstalks, bean and wheat stubble, or sunflower and cotton residue.

Each row of the ZRX is independent, hooked to a parallel linkage so the assembly can follow the contours of the ground. The machine has a concave row opener that splits standing green cover and delivers it into the blades of the roller, which effectively crimps and kills the cover crop.

NEW TOOL: This is the ZRX, a cover crop crimper and row opener now being sold in Valley Center.

The row cleaner disk clears a path for planting while distributing a thick mat of newly crimped cover crop between the rows.

Sieker says that mat is like an "instant canopy" for the subsequent crop, choking off the opportunity for weed seed to germinate and holding in the moisture of the soil underneath.

New Ag Supply will also be a dealer for the seed plates that can be used to plant large cover crop seed, such as wheat and cereal rye, or small seed such as radish and clover.

The ZRX crimper roller and seed plates will be on display for the first time in January at the No-Till On The Plains Conference in Salina. For more information on cover crops, the ZRX Roller or specialty seed plates, contact covercropclub.com or newagsupply.com.