Researchers Pinpoint When and How to Terminate Cover Crops in the Mid-Atlantic

Mar 26, 2026

Cover crop management is complex, but two recent studies could help clarify two important management factors for mid-Atlantic farmers: when and how to terminate cover crops in the spring.

Penn State researchers found that delaying cover crop termination and planting green helps retain soil moisture and can maximize early-planted soybean yields, according to Dr. Daniela Carrijo.

And University of Maryland researchers found that no combination of different herbicides and roll-crimping had any effect on cover crop residue decomposition speed, meaning most farmers will see season-long benefits as long as they aim for a late-terminated cereal rye cover crop, says then-University of Maryland grad student Dr. Cara Peterson. Both studies aim to take a few cover crop management concerns off farmers’ plates.

Cover Crop Biomass Blankets Soil, Affecting Soybean Yield and Soil Moisture

Maximizing cover crop biomass is well established as the best way to maximize weed suppression and other cover crop benefits. For farmers in rain-fed production areas like Pennsylvania, those biomass-based benefits could also trap soil moisture for cash crops to use.

But getting more biomass often means pushing cover crop planting dates back, which can interfere with fall harvests. What if farmers instead delayed cover crop termination and planted their cash crop directly into the cover crop, a practice called planting green?

Carrijo tested four research plots with cereal rye and triticale monoculture cover crops: early- and late-planted soybeans in terminated cover crops (planting brown), and early- and late-planted soybeans in living, roll-crimped cover crops (planting green).

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Video: Understanding the Basics of the Renewable Fuel Standard

On Friday, April 24, 2026, from 12 noon–1:00 ET, the Penn State Center for Agricultural and Shale Law, alongside the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s (PDA) Agricultural Business Development Center (ABDC), presented this webinar in the Understanding Agricultural Law Educational Series, a course designed to develop subject matter literacy and competence on fundamental issues of agricultural law for attorneys and business advisors who work with or represent agricultural or rural clients but may not necessarily specialize in agricultural law:

“Understanding the Basics of the Renewable Fuel Standard”

The Clean Air Act’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program requires transportation fuel sold in the United States to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuels such as ethanol, biodiesel, or advanced biofuels. Established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and later expanded by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, the RFS is implemented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in collaboration with the Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

This webinar provides an overview of the legal authority and structure for the RFS program and explain how it works, including the program’s system of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) and categories of renewable fuels. Additionally, this webinar addresses EPA annual volume requirement rulemaking and associated recent legal issues.