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PlantingRobot attempts nitrogen sidedress, cover crop seedingRobot attempts nitrogen sidedress, cover crop seeding
In late August, a robot planted a cover crop into a two-acre plot of maturing corn on Dean Thomas’s southeast Minnesota farm.Equipped with an air seeder, the “Rowbot” planted three rows per pass of a cover crop seed mix. The machine provided “pretty decent coverage,” says Thomas, a cover crops expert at the Fillmore County Soil and Water Conservation District. Although there are some bugs still to be worked out, “I think it’s got good potential.”The ability to plant between rows in a cash crop before harvest is an advantage, says Thomas. The cover crop has more time to grow before freeze-up and there are more seed choices.
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