By Elizabeth Ripley
Iowa Learning Farms will host a cover crop and grazing field day near Osage on Thursday, Nov. 13, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Green County Farms. The event is open to farmers and landowners at no cost and includes a complimentary meal.
“This field day aims to equip attendees with best management practices for establishing and managing cover crops. Cover crops offer many benefits to farmers and landowners, including reduced soil erosion, weed suppression potential, reduced nitrogen and phosphorus loads entering water bodies and increased organic matter in the soil,” said Liz Ripley, conservation and cover crop outreach specialist with Iowa Learning Farms. “Cover crops can also provide quality grazing and forage opportunities for livestock producers and provide additional grazing acres without expanding pastureland.”
Alec Amundson and Adam Norby run Green Country Farms, where they no-till corn, soybeans and small grains. In 2012, they started experimenting with cover crops, and since then, they have found new rotation options that work for them and have made adjustments to their field practices to benefit soil and water quality. The production of small grains opened a window to seed a cover crop mixture following rye harvest that is providing additional livestock feed as their cattle graze.
Source : iastate.edu