Improving wheat crop rotation

Mar 11, 2015

Frost-seeding red clover as a cover crop

As the temperature slowly starts to creep above freezing and we say goodbye to winter, farmers are coming up to the ideal time for them to frost-seed some red clover into their winter wheat crop.

Michigan State University (MSU) suggests between mid-March and early-April as the ideal period for farmers to broadcast the red clover into their winter wheat crop, just before green-up. It is important that the snow melts beforehand.

Heavy and deep snow may cause the seed to go into lower field areas and result in less than ideal stands.

Michigan State University and their Extension Cover Crop program has been conducting studies and experiments using mammoth and intermediate red clover to help winter wheat using a seeding rate between 6 and 18 pounds/acre. Their most consistent results came with a seeding rate of 12 pounds/acre.

A consistent stand height is important to make sure each stand is receiving the full complement of benefits from the red clover. These benefits include:

Between 30 and 100 pounds of soil nitrogen for the following crops
Reduction in soil erosion and pollutants in the water
Increase the soil’s ability to hold water, its organic matter and health as a whole
Reduction in weed pressure
Serves as forage

One practice to ensure uniformity MSU suggests is setting the spreader at half the intended seeding rate. Once the field is seeded, go over the field again and spread the other half of the seeds.

Be wary however, as there are some times when using red clover may be ill-advised. It should not be used when (because of late planting) the wheat stand is poor or if the clover residue in harvested straw is unacceptable, for example.

Join the discussion and tell us if you’ll frost-seed any red clover into your winter wheat. Why or why not? What other cover crops do you use and why?

Wheat

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.