Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Minutes: Meeting began at 8:00 AM Wednesday February 23, 2011 with Ken Albrecht serving as acting chair. Ken was nominated and approved as chair for this 2011 meeting. Tom Kaspar was nominated and approved as secretary for the 2011 meeting and chair-elect for 2012. Eileen Kladivko was nominated and approved as secretary-elect for 2012. There was a discussion of the site for the next meeting and Indianapolis, IN was selected as the tentative site for 2012 meeting of NCCC211. The 2012 meeting will likely be held preceding the Midwest Cover Crops Council (MCCC) annual meeting as it was this year. Late February or March 2012 were discussed as possible meeting dates.

At 9:00 AM we heard comments via a conference call and speaker phone from NIFA representative Mary Ann Rozum concerning funding opportunities through the USDA AFRI grants program. She encouraged us to think in terms of all possible benefits of cover crops, including greenhouse gasses, wildlife, biofuels, food safety, manure, and economics. She encouraged us to include economists and sociologists in our proposals. She said everyone is gearing up for the farm bill and that green box or environmental subsidies will probably replace part of the direct payments and other subsidies in the current farm bill. She also encouraged us to consider applying for a conference grant.

Clark Gantzer led a discussion on helping to organize a national meeting on cover crops in conjunction with the Soil and Water Conservation Society and the Midwest Cover Crops Council. Gantzer, Kladivko, and Kaspar had participated in a conference call concerning this topic. Another alternative would be to have a regional meeting in conjunction with the Soil and Water Conservation Society . Brief state reports were given by Kladivko, Kaspar, Mutch, and Albrecht concerning their own research that was in the planning stage or just beginning. Later in the afternoon, state research reports concerning projects that were farther along and other activities (extension and on-farm demonstrations) were shared with NCCC211 members and the MCCC group. On Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011 formal presentations were made to a more general audience including farmers, extension personnel, NRCS personnel, MCCC members, and NCCC211 members.

Briefly, Kladivko reported on new work concerning seeding of cover crops in conjunction with application of manure slurry. Mutch discussed testing the growth and winter survival of two annual ryegrass cultivars interseeded into soybean in Michigan. Kaspar discussed continuing work on effect of rye and oat cover crops on nitrate leaching in tile drainage. Albrecht discussed continuing work and future plans use of kura clover as a living mulch in corn production systems.

In the afternoon session held in conjunction with members of MCCC we discussed or heard reports on:

Cover crop selector tool  now web-based and released for Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio and we are working on Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Ontario.

Cover Crop Pocket guide - in cooperation with Purdue Extension publications; in process and should be finished by the end of 2011

Midwest Cover Crop Council website update  lots of hits; adding new material all the time; added Facebook links; looking for new ideas.

GLRI project farmer cover crop survey  Angie Williams from CTIC reported on publication of survey

Joint AFRI proposal from Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, and Minnesota was not successful. Report on reviewers comments and what we might change in the future; Other grant possibilities.

Ken Albrecht reported on the new NCCC211 regional group and the morning business meeting of that group. He encouraged participants from land grant institutions or USDA-ARS to obtain official appointment to the group.

State reports concerning research, extension, and on-farm demonstrations related to cover crops were given by Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Ontario, Ohio, Minnesota, and Michigan.

Richard Warner from Green Lands Blue Waters discussed how MCCC and NCCC211 could interact and work together with GLBW to promote cover crops in the upper Midwest.

Eileen Kladivko discussed the Princeton meeting on cover crops sponsored by the Walton Foundation and the white papers being developed from that.

Ryan Stockwell from the National Wildlife Federation discuss ways to collaborate with NWF to educate policy makers on cover crops and aid NWF in policy development on cover crops.

Social hour and dinner.

Cover Crops Session at Conservation Tillage and Technology Conference February 24, 2011; Jim Hoorman, Moderator

Cover Crop Benefits (CLM), Florian Chirra, OSU Extension, Williams Co. Cover Crops as Biofumigants, Mathieu Ngouajio, Michigan State University Reducing Winter Rye Yield Drag, Tom Kaspar, USDA-ARS, Ames, Iowa Using Legumes and Inoculants for N Fixation, Dave Robison, CISCO Research on Oilseed Radish Varieties, Dale Mutch, Michigan State University Cover Crops to Improve No-till Economics, Jim Hoorman, OSU Extension, Mercer Co. Red Clover as a Nitrogen Source, Laura Van Eerd, University of Guelph-Ridgetown, Canada Aerial Seeding of Cover Crops, Mark Eads and Garrett Eby, AgriFlite Earthworms Building Organic Matter and Nutrient Recycling, Odette Menard, Quebec Ministry of Ag, Canada Barriers to Cover Crop Adoption (Survey Results), Angie Williams, CTIC, Lafayette, IN Practical Cover Crops for Corn-Soybean Rotation, Barry Fisher, State Agronomist, USDA-NRCS, Indiana How to incorporate cover crops into the crop rotation: Farmer Panel, Bill Richards and Howard Weller Cover Crop Decision Tool to Improve Soil and Water, Dean Baas, Michigan State University Great Lakes Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Cover Crop Plots, Glen Arnold, OSU Extension, Putnam Co. No-Till Cover Crops Improve Yields and Soil Quality, Rafiq Islam, OSU South Centers, Piketon Alan Sundermeier, OSU Extension, Wood Co. State Reports: State Report for Iowa on Cover Crop Research and Activities for the NCCC211 2011 meeting in Ada, OH on 2-23-2011 Matt Helmers, Dept. Ag. & Biosys. Eng., Iowa State University has studies on nitrate-nitrogen leaching benefits of winter rye cover crop within a corn -soybean rotation are being conducted at drainage water quality research sites near Gilmore City and Nashua, IA. Preliminary results indicate positive nitrate leaching benefits of the cover crops even in less than ideal spring growing conditions for the rye. Also, showed evidence that cover crops reduced volume of drainage water. Jeremy Singer, USDA-ARS-NLAE, has had studies looking at developing self-seeding cover crop systems that minimizes competition with soybean by restricting cover crop growth to optimize cover crop seed production and dispersal. A wheat cover crop combined with mechanical seed dispersal preharvest exhibited the greatest consistency in self-seeding regardless of initial seeding rate. Wheat self-seeding systems exhibit the greatest potential for adoption, although soybean yield was lower in one of two years compared to a no cover crop control.

Tom Kaspar and several other scientists at USDA-ARS_NLAE have used a monitored tile drainage site to examine the effect of winter cover crops on nitrate losses in drainage water in a corn-soybean rotation. From 2005 to 2010, an oat cover crop was broadcast seeded at main crop maturity and a rye cover crop was established after harvest using a grain drill. The rye cover crop reduced the flow-weighted nitrate concentration of the drainage water by 48% from 2006 through 2010. The oat cover crop reduced the nitrate concentration of drainage water by 25% from 2006 through 2010 and in 2009 reduced nitrate concentration as much as the rye cover crop. The rye cover crop reduced the load of nitrate in the drainage water by 46% and the oat cover crop by 37% from 2006 through 2010.

John Sawyer, Iowa State University, conducted the first two years of a study to determine the nitrogen fertilization requirement of corn following a rye winter cover crop. Over two years and multiple locations corn following a rye cover crop had the same economically optimum N fertilizer rate as corn without a rye cover crop preceding it.

2010 South Dakota Annual Report Producers utilized research results to incorporate cover crops into current production practices to alleviate corn stand establishment problems, improve soil carbon, and scavenge and add additional nitrogen to the system. Over the past eight years the acres under no-till management in South Dakota have increased by nearly 3 million including a significant shift to no-till in the eastern areas of South Dakota as a direct result of education and research by the team members. Research results have been transferred to NRCS Conservation Agronomist and have been incorporated in the NRCS Agronomy Technical Note No. 16. Additionally, based upon this research NRCS has provided practice payments to producers to adopt cover crops as a conservation practice, with 33,000 acres utilizing cover crop in 2009 compared to 7,000 acres in 2008.

Indiana State Report for February 23-24, 2011 Meeting in Ada, Ohio

State/Province Name: Indiana Contact Information Name: Eileen Kladivko Organization: Purdue University E-mail: kladivko@purdue.edu Telephone: 765-494-6372 Research

Some new studies were initiated within the past year, along with continuation of some long term or ongoing studies by a number of researchers at Purdue. New studies include:

1. Slurry seeding of cover crops, as part of larger project with Tim Harrigan at Michigan State. Purdues part includes field trials with annual ryegrass and swine manure, on three farmers fields, as well as mini-plots at research farm, and growth chamber studies on seed germination with exposure to swine manure. (graduate student Edwin Suarez)

2. Sampled various cover crops for biomass and N content on several farmer fields or demonstration plots, as initial information (not replicated) around the state.

3. Greenhouse experiment growing 3 radish varieties at two plant densities and two soil bulk densities, for overall growth, tuber size, overall root growth, top growth, N content. (graduate student Mohammad Amini)

4. New project on organic agriculture, led by K. Gibson (weed scientist, Dept. of Botany and Plant Pathology) with 8 faculty across 5 departments and eventually 6-7 grad students. Cover crops are part of overall management strategy. (graduate student Jessica Garvert working on soils part in Agronomy Dept with Kladivko)

5. New long-term and short-term plots to be established starting spring 2011 (covers to be seeded in fall 2011). This will include some smaller aspects of what we all proposed for AFRI grant proposal, on rye and another cover vs no cover, but well only use different N rates (3) after 5 years of cover crop growth (ie, build the SOM first, and then test N release). Also will do N sampling in field with radishes, and will likely try small plots with other covers too (still doing final plans for 2011). (new graduate student Kaylissa Horton plus another coming in May).

One of these sites will be as part of a large AFRI-CAP (the $20million program, not the $5million program we tried for) led by Lois Wright Morton at Iowa State, on climate change and corn systems. The cover crop plots will be simply cereal rye vs no rye, on corn-soybean and soybean-corn, with 4 reps, for total of 16 plots. We should encourage some of those participants to become more directly involved with MCCC in the future, but as of now, Kladivko is the liaison.

Some long-term or always ongoing work continues:

6. Winter wheat cover crop used in tile drainage research project, where nitrate measured in tile drainflow. Long-term (25+yrs) but no simultaneous comparison without cover crop. Could make more measurements related to N cycling, if regional collaboration.

7. Biomass crops, new and old work (Miscanthus, switchgrass)

8. Ongoing work on pest suppression (disease, nematode, weeds) and in vegetable production (Dept. of Botany and Plant Pathology; Dept of Horticulture

9. Always ongoing work on forages for hay or grazing

Extension/Education

There has been a lot of activity and interest in cover crops in Indiana the past few years. Several new or greatly expanded efforts in cover crops are occurring through and with many of our partners, including NRCS, SWCD, Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative, State Dept of Agriculture, along with Purdue Extension.

1. Purdue Extension has been working with colleagues in the MCCC on two major Extension productsthe Cover Crop Selector Tool (led by Dean Baas and Michigan State and now on line!) and recently the Cover Crop Pocket Guide (led by Purdue, just starting). The Indiana team for the Selector Tool included Fisher, Towery, Johnson, Robison, Swaim, and Kladivko. The Pocket Guide includes all interested MCCC states/provinces and is scheduled to be drafted within the next month, and available by December 1, 2011.

2. Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative (CCSI)this new initiative of the Conservation Partnership puts two experienced people on the ground, for working with farmers interested in no-till, cover crops, and other conservation practices. (Hans Kok and Dan Towery). They work with SWCDs, County Extension, ISDA, NRCS and agri-businesses to provide information, education and collaboration to over 4000 producers at over 50 workshops across the state.

3. Demonstration sites on farmers fields. These are usually initiated by farmer interest but may be facilitated by NRCS, SWCD, Extension, or agronomic consultant. The CCSI will be helping initiate many more of these through a new on-farm network, assisted by CIG funding through the State Dept of Agriculture.

State Report Wisconsin

Water balance and nitrate leaching under corn in kura clover living mulch (Tyson Ochsner, Ken Albrecht, John Baker, Todd Schumacher, and Bob Berkevich)

Kura clover living mulch has potential to improve the environmental impact of corn production, especially in the context of corn silage or stover harvest. Our objective was to determine the effects of kura clover living mulch on the water balance and nitrate leaching under corn near Arlington, WI. Treatments in the 2.5-yr experiment were N-fertilized no-till corn following killed kura clover as the control and no-till corn in living mulch with fertilizer rates of 0 and 90 kg N ha-1 yr-1. Soil water storage was 37 to 50 mm lower under the living mulch in the spring, while the control experienced 29 to 36 mm greater soil water depletion in the summer. Evapotranspiration was similar across treatments, except in May when it was greater under the living mulch by 11 to 41 mm. The living mulch did not appreciably reduce drainage. Nitrate-N storage in the soil profile and nitrate-N concentrations in the soil solution at 1-m depth were reduced under both living mulch treatments relative to the control. Flow-weighted nitrate-N concentrations were 23 mg L-1 for the control, 17 mg L-1 for the living mulch with 90 kg N ha-1 yr-1, and 6 mg L-1 for the living mulch with 0 kg N ha-1 yr-1. Total nitrate-N leached was reduced 31% and 74% relative to the control under the living mulch with 90 and 0 kg N ha-1 yr-1, respectively.

Evaluating organic fertility management systems for an organic processing vegetable rotation (AJ Bussan and Nick Goeser)

Research focuses on the evaluation of several organic fertility management systems within an organic processing vegetable rotation (potatoes, sweet corn and snap beans) for cover crop residue nitrogen mineralization rates and nitrogen release timing, soil plant-available nitrogen pools, nitrogen leachate losses, in-season crop growth and development, in-season crop nitrogen uptake, crop nitrogen use efficiency, and end of season yield and quality. Fertility management systems utilize combinations of composted poultry manure, fall planted perennial cover crops for use as a green manure, and spring planted annual green manure crops. Over 3 years, results indicate an integrated composted poultry manure with annual cover crop system performs well over several measured parameters including cover crop residue nitrogen mineralization rates and nitrogen release timing, soil plant-available nitrogen quantities available to crops, in-season crop growth and development, in-season crop nitrogen uptake, and end of season yield and quality.

Soil erosion and nutrient losses from kura clover living mulch (Arthur Schwab, Bill Jokela and Ken Albrecht)

We are measuring the effect of kura clover living mulch on surface water runoff, soil erosion, and phosphorus and nitrogen losses during simulated large storm events (~3 in. hour-1) in southwest Wisconsin at a moderately sloped site (~10%). The experiment consists of four treatments: standard no-till corn silage and corn in kura clover living mulch, each with and without winter rye cover crop. The rye treatments are included in order to compare the environmental effects of kura clover living mulch to those of annual winter rye cover cropping. Simulations were performed throughout the 2010 growing season and a final set of simulations will occur in the spring of 2011. Preliminary results show a large (more than 50%) reduction in both soil erosion and phosphorus runoff between the standard no-till treatment and living mulch (p < 0.001).

Green manure crops for organic systems (Josh Posner, John Hall, Janet Hedtcke)

Green manure crops for organic grain systems (corn-soy-wheat/clover rotation) have been used on the Wisconsin Integrated Cropping Systems Trial (WICST) since 1991 at 2 sites in southern Wisconsin. Inter-seeded red clover drilled into winter wheat (in early spring) was the primary green manure crop until 2004; in 2005, we shifted to a sequential seeding of berseem clover and oats after wheat harvest. Without any summer tillage after wheat harvest, we were finding increasing foxtail and quackgrass pressure in the following corn crop. We anticipated that we would fix less N with the later seeded cover crop and have a period when the field would be open with the potential for increased erosion. However, late July is usually a hot and dry part of the season and an ideal time to break the weed growth cycleespecially to desiccate quackgrass rhizomes. The inter-seeded red clover at plowdown averaged across the 20 site-yrs was 2.4 t DM/a (1.6 t/a aboveground +0.8 t/a belowground) with 127 lbs/a N (16 of the 20 site-yrs had an N credit over 100 lbs/a). The shorter season oat/berseem cover crop (planted in mid-August) resulted in an average of 2.2 t total DM/a and about 80 lbs N/a (80% from oats, 20% from clover). However, in this shorter data set with berseem clover/oats, 2 of 6 site-yrs had biomass yields less than 1.1 t DM/a due to a dry period following planting (less than 1 of rain in the 3 weeks after planting). We did find however that ground cover was quickly re-established due to inclusion of oats in the cover crop mix. Although the comparison in this report is not from side-by-side plots, biomass yields and N levels from a sequentially seeded oat/berseem following wheat (6 site-years) yielded about 80% that of inter-seeded red clover (20 site-years). Although not solely due to reduced weed pressure, organic corn yields from 2002 to 2005 averaged 106 bu/a while from 2006 to 2009 the average was 163 bu/a. Further research on our cover crops is posted on the WICST website: http://wicst.wisc.edu/category/cover-crops-project/

Organically-managed no-tillage rye-soybean systems: Agronomic, economic, and environmental assessment (Emily Bernstein, Joshua Posner, David Stoltenberg, and Janet Hedtcke)

A major challenge that organic grain crop growers face is weed management. The use of a rye cover crop to facilitate no-tillage organic soybean production may improve weed suppression and increase profitability. We conducted research in 2008 and 2009 to determine the effect of rye management (tilling, crimping, and mowing), soybean planting date (mid-May or early June), and soybean row width (76 or 19 cm), on soybean establishment, soil moisture, weed suppression, soybean yield, and profitability. Soybean establishment did not differ between tilled and no-tillage treatments; and soil moisture measurements showed minimal risk of a drier soil profile in no-tillage rye treatments. Rye mulch treatments effectively suppressed weeds, with 75% less weed biomass than in the tilled treatment by mid-July. However, by this time, no-tillage soybean competed with rye regrowth, were deficient in Cu, and accumulated 22% as much DM and 28% as much N compared to the tilled treatment. Soybean row width and planting date within no-tillage treatments impacted soybean productivity but not profitability, with few differences between mowed and crimped rye. Soybean yield was 24% less in the no-tillage treatments than the tilled treatment, and profitability per hectare was 27% less. However, with fewer labor inputs, profitability per hour in no-tillage rye treatments was 25% greater than in tilled soybean; in addition, predicted soil erosion was nearly 90% less. Although soybean yields were less in no-tillage rye mulch systems, they represent economically viable alternatives for organic producers in the Upper Midwest.

Managing spring-seeded legume cover crops in diverse vegetable production systems (Matt Ruark, Kevin Shelley, and Jim Stute)

Utilization of spring-seeded legumes to provide nitrogen (N) to vegetables has not been fully evaluated in Wisconsin climates. Short-season vegetables (60 to 90 day growing season) are high value and if managed organically require annual applications of organic N. In 2009 and 2010, field research was conducted in Jefferson County, Wisconsin to evaluate how to best manage spring-seeded legumes to maximize agronomic benefit. The experimental design was a randomized, complete block  split plot with four replications. The main plot factor was N input and there were five main plot treatments: no N input, composted chicken manure, berseem clover, crimson clover and chickling vetch. The legume cover crops were planted in early April. The split plot factor was timing of plow-under. The legumes were plowed under 4, 6 and 8 weeks after planting and crops were planted two weeks after plow-under. The crop rotation evaluated was a buckwheat-red beet-kidney bean rotation. Preliminary results suggest that benefits of spring-seeded cover crops can be maximized after only 4 weeks of growth. Most of the above ground biomass production of the cover crops had occurred by week 4, which produced enough N to satisfy the N needs of the crops (based on the green manure credits suggested from UW-Extension guidelines). During the growing season of 2009 and 2010, soil samples (30 cm) for ammonium and nitrate and whole plant buckwheat samples were collected six to ten times during the growing season to evaluate N dynamics and synchrony between N uptake and soil N availability during the growing season. Samples are currently being processed. Results from this study provides information for fresh market vegetable growers (conventional, CSA and organic) to best manage legume cover crops on their fields.

State report Missouri:

2011 Report Clark Gantzer  University of Missouri GantzerC@missouri.edu

After the 2010 Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) Annual Meeting in St. Louis, Clark Gantzer forwarded the idea of a SWCS sponsoring a cover crop workshop.

In August 2010, Robert E. Ball, State Resource Conservationist (Retired in December) NRCS-Missouri, received input from NRCS Area Resource Conservationists located within the four Administrative Areas of Missouri. Paul NRCS, Resource Conservationist paul.duffner@mo.usda.gov will represent NRCS in the future.

University of Missouri received a SARE Grant Extension organized by Debi Kelly (Referral Service Manager -(Missouri Alternatives Center, MU Extension) KellyD@missouri.edu and Bob Broz (Water Quality Extension Assistant Professor(Agricultural Engineering, MU Extension) BrozR@missouri.edu and held two SARE Professional Development Program (PDP) on cover crops. The first was to help familiarize extension and NRCS personnel with some of the concepts and review some of what we have going on in Missouri. This training included field trips around the University of Missouris Bradford Research Bradford Research and Extension Center, and to the USDA-ARS the Goodwater Creek Research Watershed near Centralia, Missouri, and then on to see a farmer that was assisting Rich Hoorman (Agronomy Specialist) hoormannr@missouri.edu with some demo work and then to a seed producer outside of Martinsburg, MO. Hoorman and Charlie Ellis (Natural Resource Engineer) EllisCE@missouri.edu established field plots to evaluate different crops, planting times, etc. Plots were toured during the second cover crop PDP s held in Warrenton MO. Work was done with producers and had different reasons for using cover crops. One producer wanted cover crops as a means of providing legumes for winter feed for his intensive grazing program. Ellis and Hoorman have been working with different varieties and have engineered a planter to use when putting in cover crops. Some yield data to determine cover crops benefit is being collected. The University of Missouri Extension is trying to establish a statewide team of extension personnel to help establish demonstration plots for cover crops. Tim Reinbott (Research Associate & Superintendent Bradford Research & Extension Center) ReinbottT@missouri.edu has established cover crop plots at Bradford this fall.

William Wiebold Extention Professor of Crop ScienceUniversity of Missouri WieboldW@missouri.edu has an ongoing cover crop study Use of Cover Crops to Replace Corn Biomass Removal. The overall objective of this project is to determine how changes in the standard Midwestern corn/soybean cropping system because of biomass use for ethanol affect both rotation crops. Specific objectives are: Determine the effects of corn biomass removal on corn and soybean growth, development, yield, and grain composition, and to Determine the effects of cover crops (used to replace corn biomass) on corn and soybean emergence, development, yield, and grain composition. Treatments include: Two biomass removal treatments: none removed and 75% removal; for the 75% removal treatment, corn stalks will be mowed and baled in the fall, Three cover crop treatments: None, winter rye, tillage radishes, Two grain crops grown in rotation: corn and soybean. The Experimental design is : Crops treated as separate experiments each with a split plot treatment arrangement. Biomass removal treatments are whole plots and cover crops are split plots, Plot size: 25 feet (7.6m) long and 20 feet (6m) wide. Data collected: Soil temperature: daily high, low, and average from planting to harvest, Soil moisture: measured weekly, Mineral nutrients in soil, corn biomass, and cover crops, Emergence date for individual plants; calculate variability, Stand density three weeks after emergence, Dates for critical stages of development: flowering, seed-filling, maturity, Plant height at 6 weeks after emergence, Yield Corn grain composition (extractable starch and protein), Soybean grain composition (oil and protein).

Robert J. Kremer (ARS Columbia, MO Soil Scientist), KremerR@missouri.edu has an ongoing on-farm project since 2002 assessing the perennial kura clover as a cover crop, or permanent alley crop, in pecan on the loess soils of the Missouri River uplands in Chariton County. (Kremer, Robert J. and Robert D. Kussman 2011. Soil quality in a pecankura clover alley cropping system in the Midwestern USA. Agroforest Syst DOI 10.1007/s10457-011-9370-y). Secondly, we (ARS Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research Unit, Columbia MO) will be assessing cover crops (primarily cereal rye and hairy vetch, perhaps brassicas also) in cropping systems at the Centralia plot site, that is being transitioned to biofuel cropping systems this spring. I will be leading the soil quality assessment with these crops. I have previously evaluated other cover crops (spring oats, brassicas) overseeded in soybean as winter cover or mulch (since oats will freeze out) for soil quality effects and winter annual weed control - those results are being drafted for publication later this year.

State Report Michigan: Organic and conventional research being conducted by Michigan State University Extension (MSUE) at the W. K. Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) by Dale R. Mutch, Ph.D. Senior District Extension Educator and Extension Specialist,Adjunct Professor CSS Coordinator, KBS and Extension Land & Water Unit NCR-SARE PDP State Sustainable Agriculture Coordinator

The MSUE Cover Crop Program at KBS began conducting organic research in 1996. In 1997 we had 12 acres certified organic through OCIA. We now have 15 acres certified organic. On these organic acres we conduct small plot research that is driven by farmer advisory groups. In 1996 MSU had only a few researchers working with organic farmers. Over the past 15 years, that has changed tremendously. I believe MSU is one of the top Land Grant universities doing research for organic farming systems.

Some of the research projects being conducted at MSUE/KBS are:

1. Evaluation of an organic no-till system for organic corn and soybean production. A six-state (Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and Pennsylvania) long-term no-till organic cropping system project. We are measuring crop productivity, yields, soil quality and economic performance. The crimper/roller is being evaluated as a tool to enhance organic no-till practices. The crimper/roller (C/R) crushes the cover crop leaving a mulch that shades out weeds and prevents them from germinating. Following C/R we no-till drill or plant soybeans or corn into the mulch. Hairy vetch and cereal rye are being used in this study for both corn and soybean production. The no-till treatments are being compared to more traditional conventional tilled treatments for corn and soybeans. Each state also has the same experiment being conducted on an organic farmers field. This is the third year of a four-year project.

2. Controlling weeds using flame heat for organic farmers. A study was initiated at KBS to evaluate the time of day for the best results of flame burning weeds in corn systems. A six-row flamer was used at 8 a.m., 12 noon, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. in organic corn. The study was conducted over two years and the results will be presented by Dr. Christy Sprague at this years MOSES conference.

3. Evaluation of organic potassium sources for alfalfa. In 2009 the field had been a crop of organic no-till soybeans with rye, and had cereal rye and clover growing, making it necessary to moldboard plow. In 2010, the first year of this project was spent establishing the alfalfa. A field that had been farmed organically for the past three years was moldboard plowed on March 19. The untreated alfalfa seed was donated to the project by Cisco Seeds. The field was planted to alfalfa at 28 lbs/A with a nurse crop of oats at 1 bu/A on April 12. Timely rains and warm weather resulted in good establishment of the oats and alfalfa. The oats became competitive with the alfalfa by late May, from advisement of the forage specialist at MSU, the oats were mowed off and removed on June 11. Weeds overtook the 2-3 inch alfalfa after mowing, and were flail mowed and removed on August 6. An excellent alfalfa stand resulted from these management strategies. In 2011, sulphate of potash (SOP, Great Salt Lake Minerals Corporation) and dairy slurry as potassium sources will be compared to an untreated control for their influence on alfalfa yield and quality.

4. Evaluation of eight legume cover crops no-till drilled into wheat stubble and their influence on organic corn yield. Since nitrogen is often a limiting factor for organic corn, a study was conducted to compare several legumes no-till drilled after wheat harvest for their nitrogen contribution to corn the following season. Red clover, hairy vetch and crimson clover resulted in the highest corn yields in 2010 at 117, 105 and 103 bu/A respectively. We drilled Austrian winter pea at two rates, 60 and 90 lbs/A, where the 90 lb. rate resulted in a 5 bushel corn yield gain of 96 bu/A, as compared to 60 lbs/A rate at 91 bu/A. The sweet clover treatment resulted in a corn yield of 97 bu/A, which was comparable to the 90 lb/A Austrian winter pea treatment at 96 bu/A. Vernal alfalfa, chickling vetch and the no cover crop control had the lowest yield of 82, 85 and 84 bu/A respectively. Our results indicate that in Michigan on sandy loam soils, red clover provided the best corn yield compared to the other tested legumes.

5. Brassica mustard as a cover crop for weed control in the spring. This study involves using two varieties of mustardTilney and Ida Goldwhich were planted at four separate dates. A quadrant of no cover crop (bare ground) was left in each plot to evaluate weed pressure without cover crops. Biomass samples were taken during the spring. Cover crop biomass was compared to weed biomass. In 2010 we had an early spring and thus allowed us to plant earlier than most seasons. These data should help farmers evaluate mustards as a spring weed control tool. Three states are conducting this experimentMichigan, New York and Illinois.

6. Organic dry bean production and weed control. A dry bean variety and production trial is being initiated in 2011. We have tested 32 varieties of dry beans over the past three years on our certified organic soil. A more expansive research project at KBS and on organic farms will be evaluated over the next four years. Other research projects being conducted by the MSUE Cover Crop group at sites other than KBS are organic pumpkins, organic tomatoes, 13 oilseed radish and seven other brassicas variety trial with NRCS and University of Minnesota. Other Cover Crop Research conducted in 2010: " Three on farm trials were conducted utilizing the slurry seeding method. Oilseed Radish, oats + turnip and a control without covers were compared. These were field size trials and each treatment was replicated four times. The slurry seeding was compared to drilling the same cover crops and applying liquid manure was the Aerway applicator. One on farm trial; used ceareal rye only which was applied through the slurry seeder.

" An experiment evaluating three rates of nitrogen fertilizer for rye: which was crimped and rolled in the spring, was planted with drilled round-up ready soybeans. There was four replications in a RCB design.

Dr. Dean Baas Cover Crop decision Tool:

The cover crop decision tool has been completed for Michigan field crops. Four meeting with specialists and educators were conducted to fit cover crop data into the tool for Michigan.

A vegetable cover crop decision tool has been initiated. We have had one meeting to begin this process.

Accomplishments from Oct. 2010 to Feb 2011. 1. Members of NCCC211 were involved with the planning and presentations for cover crop session/day at the Conservation Tillage and Technology Conference on Thursday Feb. 24, 2011 at the McIntosh Center of Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio. There were 15 presentations on cover crops and on average we had between 150  200 people in the audience, consisting of farmers, NRCS personnel, Soil and Water Conservation District commissioners, seed dealers, extension personnel, and researchers. 2. Members of NCCC211 participated in planning and developing the Midwest Cover Crop Council Cover Crop Decision Tool, which is a web-based system for assisting farmers in selecting cover crops to include in their cropping systems. The current version has completed for Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. Current plants are to expand the tool to include Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Ontario. Plans for coming year include planning for next meeting in Indianapolis, IN and possible collaboration with the Soil and Water Conservation Society for a joint meeting on cover crops. The group will also work on a pocket guide extension publication on cover crop with Purdue University extension.

no publications listed yet as project is only 4 months old