cover crops 101 - juchems

COVER CROPSRick Juchems

Farming in Butler & Bremer Counties since 1979

470 acres of corn and soybean

Finish 5,000 hogs annually

Butler County SWCD

Cedar Valley and Iowa League RC&D

North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Administrative Council

Butler County Farm Service Agency Board

Me & my farm

470 cover crop acres

Started cover crops in 2003

Other conservation practices: Grass waterways

Buffers along creeks

Terraces

CRP windbreaks

No-tillage

Terrace on rental acres

Custom farm 80 acres with CRP waterways being installed

Shallow wetland area

Conservation on my farm

What are Cover Crops?

Cereal Rye Research Strips at Juchems’ Farm

PFI

Reduces wind & water erosion

Keeps soil and nutrients out of the streams, lakes, rivers and structural conservation practices

Builds soil health: increases organic matter levels and water infiltration and storage capacity

Fixes N and can reduce fertilizer rates and costs

Cover Crop Benefits on My Farm

NRCS

Steve Berger

ISU

Additional Potential Cover Crop Benefits

NRCS

Can suppress weeds by providing competition, shading & allelopathiccharacteristics

Encourage beneficial biological activity/microbial life in soil, discourage disease

Encourage beneficial insects, prey on pests

Reduce need/cost for herbicides & pesticides

Provides opportunity for producers with livestock to graze or hay

Provides winter food and cover for birds & other wildlife

Opportunities for Iowa businesses

Additional Potential Cover Crop Benefits

PF

plantcovercrops.com

Before Soybeans:

Winter Cereal Rye – 56 lbs/ac

(1 bu/ac)

Before Corn:

Oats –38 lbs/ac (1 bu/ac)

Radishes – 3 lbs/ac

Cover Crops Used & Fall 2014 Seeding Rates

Aerial applied when beans showed first tinge of yellow and corn was almost at black layer in September

Drill during harvest

Cover Crop Application

PFI

Non overwintering cover crops:

Oats & radishes were killed with a good frost

Overwintering cover crops:

Glyphosate Herbicide for cereal rye

Tillage

Cover Crop Termination

Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) Flat rate per acre Payment varies by cover crop species used Can get it on the same acres every year for a maximum

of three consecutive years

Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) 5 year contract, annual payments Payment for existing conservation system plus payment

for enhancements to existing conservation system Continuous cover crops and cover crop mixtures CSP

cover crop enhancement options

State Cost Share-varies by county Sometimes watershed project specific funding

available

Cover Crop Assistance