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You hear the term cover crops a lot, especially with all the NRCS and USDA climate smart programs available these days. The push for regenerative agriculture is stronger more now than ever, with carbon capture a main focus of all eyes looking at agricultural practices. A great way to increase your carbon capture is to plant cover crops over winter in your otherwise 'dormant' fields.
If you have never planted cover crops before, what can it really do for your fields and for your business? In our area of the country, we have a fairly long fallow period, sometimes ranging from October to late May. During these fallow periods, especially during the winter, our dormant fields can end up with a lot of 'snirt'. 'Snirt' is the term for the combination of snow and dirt, which you get when topsoil from fields blows into the ditches where it mixes with snow. When this happens, a pile of dirt is left in the ditches after the snow melts in the spring and oftentimes the soil that ends up in the ditch is the most fertile soil from the field. According to NDSU extension's Crop and Pest Report, this lost topsoil can cost farms approximately$688.40 per acre, that adds up fast!
One way to combat the issue of losing topsoil during those fallow months is to plant cover crops. Cover crops can play a major role in combating erosion and can make certain that the most fertile soil is in place for your spring planting. Soil is subject to wind and water erosion during those fallow periods and the the vigorous vegetation that grows from cover crop planting holds that topsoil in place during those brutal winds that winter can bring.
Most of the values from cover crop comes from what happens below the ground, however. This vegetation creates large root systems under the surface which increase the pores and channels within the soil, reducing water runoff over the soil surface.
Cover crops also offer the option of grazing. Cover crops can offer a nutrient dense, high protein option during otherwise slim forage months of the winter. This option to graze these fields can mimic mother nature and increase the positive effects that grazing produces during the warmer months.
Carbon sequestration is a hot topic these days and cover crops can greatly improve your business's carbon capture capability. Cover crops 'harvest' carbon from the air with the help of sunlight using photosynthesis. Much of the waste that is excreted by plants are utilized by the multitude of microorganisms in the soil. Carbon capture creates organic matter that then becomes part of the soil,, making soils a vast 'sink' for carbon sequestration and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.
Our office currently has grant dollars available to help with the cost of planting cover crops-contact us today!
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Author: Derek Ver Helst, Agspire
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