ARS | Publication request: Midwest Cover Crops Field Guide

Submitted to: Experiment Station Bulletins
Publication Type: Experiment Station
Publication Acceptance Date: January 4, 2012
Publication Date: March 6, 2012
Citation: Fisher, B., Gerber, C., Johnson, K., Kladivko, E., Nice, G., Robison, D., Kaspar, T.C., Ackroyd, V.J., Baas, D.G., Bird, G.W., Brainard, D.C., Goldy, R.G., Harrigan, T.M., Hausbeck, M.K., Mutch, D.R., Ngouajio, M., Renner, K., Sprague, C., Taylor, E., Hoorman, J.J., Islam, R., Petrosino, J., Reeder, R., Sundermeier, A., Young, C., Brown, C., Callow, K., Celetti, M., Robinson, D., Tenuta, A., Van Eerd, L., Verhallen, A., Albrecht, K. 2012. Midwest Cover Crops Field Guide. p. 136. Available: http://www3.ag.purdue.edu/agry/dtc/Pages/CoverCropsFG.aspx.

Technical Abstract: Producers who want to prevent soil erosion, improve nutrient cycling, sustain their soils, and protect/maintain the environment have been returning to a very old practice: planting cover crops. Cover crops are effective tools for reducing soil erosion and increasing nutrient recycling on farmlands, which can decrease the soil and nutrient loads that enter lakes and waterways. Cover crops also can improve soil quality, pest management, fertility management, water availability, landscape diversification, and wildlife habitat. Although farmers have been using cover crops for centuries, today’s producers grew up in a generation that has little experience with them. As they rediscover the role that cover crops can play in sustainable farming systems, many growers lack the experience and information to take advantage of all the potential benefits cover crops can offer. That inexperience can lead to costly mistakes. This guide will help farmers effectively select, grow, and use cover crops in their farming systems. While this guide isn’t the final word on cover crops, it is meant to be a useful reference.