Diversifying a Row Crop Farm With Winter Camelina, Oats, Sunflowers and Cover Crops

May 11, 2026

Event Overview

Scott and Dawn Lightly grow corn, soybeans, oats and sunflowers and are trying winter camelina and buckwheat on 360 acres near Oakland, Minnesota. After more than 20 years of farming, a light-bulb moment in 2013 led Scott to start using cover crops and reduced tillage. A few years later, he began interseeding cover crops into his standing corn and has since noticed a big improvement in moisture retention and infiltration.

As marketing opportunities arose, Scott and Dawn started extending their rotation with small-grain and oilseed crops. They are now exploring double-cropping to get two harvested crops from one field in a year. Come see how winter camelina and sunflowers are opening the door to new possibilities on the Lightlys' farm, with insights from Matt Leavitt of Forever Green Initiative and Anna Teeter of Cargill.

Meal

A light meal will follow the field day.

See & Discuss

The basics of winter camelina agronomy and marketing
Combine settings and tricks for winter camelina
Market opportunities for sunflowers
Financial and agronomic benefits of double-cropping cool- and warm-season crops
Navigating crop insurance for specialty crops
Soil health benefits of interseeded cover crops

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Video: Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes | Field Talk Friday

Field Talk Friday | Dr. John Murphy | Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes

Most of us spend our time managing what we can see above ground—plant height, leaf color, stand counts, and yield potential. But the deeper you dig into agronomy, the more you realize that some of the most important processes driving crop performance are happening just millimeters below the surface.

In this episode of Field Talk Friday, Dr. John Murphy continues the soil biology series by diving into one of the most fascinating topics in modern agronomy: root exudates and the role they play in shaping the microbial world around plant roots.

Roots are not passive structures simply pulling nutrients out of the soil. They are active participants in the underground ecosystem. Plants constantly release compounds into the soil—sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and other molecules—that act as both energy sources and signals for soil microbes.