Editor’s note: From the monthly column, Land Values.

Farm managers typically work with a number of land owners and we are acutely aware of the challenge of controlling nutrient loss -- if the industry doesn’t do it voluntarily new rules and regulations could be forced upon all farmers. And we believe the use of cover crops is an important component of the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy. But a good cover crop program requires planning that should take place months and maybe a year in advance. Here’s a look at four steps we suggest to our clients.

1. Plan for the crop that will follow the cover crop.

TERMINATION PLAN: Cereal rye is easy to terminate either chemically or mechanically. (Photo: Shalamar Armstrong, Purdue University.)

Prior to planting soybeans, I suggest cereal rye because it is easy to terminate either with chemicals or mechanically. For corn, do not plant cereal rye prior because the allopathic effect on corn can be quite severe. Before corn, I usually suggest a legume and/or nutrient scavenger/recycler such as tillage radish. Another option would be spring oats alone or with tillage radish.

For help making those decisions, the Midwest Cover Crop Council has a great Cover Crop Decision Tool on their website.

2. Know what herbicide has been used.

Residual herbicide is a major reason for cover crops failing to establish. Penn State University has a good chart on herbicide residual and cover crop planting restrictions. Practical Farmers of Iowa also have information on herbicide carryover.

Related story: Herbicide “watch outs” for cover crops

3. Consider when and how to plant the cover crop.

You have a few options here. You can plant after harvest by mixing the seed with dry fertilizer and incorporating with light tillage; or broadcast with a fertilizer buggy and lightly incorporated with tillage; or plant with a drill or an air seeder on your fall tillage tool. You could also plant before harvest via aerial seeding or with a high-clearance sprayer equipped with an air seeding system. Another option is to use a seeder on your cultivator, if you’re cultivating to control resistant weeds; the cover crop may help suppress late-emerging weeds.

4. Have a termination plan. Several cover crops such as tillage radish, sunn hemp, and fall seeded-spring oats and others are terminated naturally by cold temperatures. Some cover crops will have to terminated chemically with non-selective herbicides such as glyphosate and gramoxone. Some people like to get the termination done as early in the spring as possible, while others like to wait a little longer to give the cover crop more time to sequester nutrients. I terminate cereal rye when it is 2 feet tall. By then it’s had time to do its job suppressing weeds and sequestering nitrogen. A recent study from Iowa State University suggests that biomass production increases and nitrogen is retained when letting cereal rye grow an extra 3 weeks before soybean planting.

Related story: 5 steps to cover crop success

You can also terminate cover crops mechanically; try the roller-crimper developed by the Rodale Institute. We have used a 30-foot roller crimper the last two years in an organic transition to roll and kill a cereal rye cover planted after corn ahead of soybeans. What I really like about the roller-crimper system is that it works on conventional and organic farms.

As stewards of the land, this is part of a conversation we all need to have on the how to keep the soil and the nutrients on the farm and not in the rivers. It will be much better for all of us if we figure out how to do this voluntarily, not legislatively.

Woodrow is an accredited farm manager with Farmland Solutions which is based in Sherman, IL. He is a member of the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, whose members regularly contribute to this column.