When it comes to growing cover crops, some common advice from farmers is to ?start small.? The Soil Health Partnership encourages farmers new to cover crops to start small, but start now.
Cover crops, typically planted during the fall and winter, help reduce soil erosion, improve soil health and protect water quality, among other benefits. David Moose, a farmer from Auburn, Illinois, plants cover crops through the Soil Health Partnership. Moose said he started planting cover crops in efforts to build more organic matter in his soil.
?Like no till, I had some bumps in the road the first five or six years, but I?m committed to make this cover crop system work,? Moose said.
Moose said as the taproot from the cover crop grows deeper into the soil, the more benefits the cover crop will provide.
?That will provide a nice environment for the earthworms,? Moose said. ?It will also open up channels for the water to run down, and it will transfer nutrients both down into the soil and the back-up later in the season.?
Additional benefits of cover crops include: improved soil structure and soil pores, weed suppression and nutrient storage.
The Soil Health Partnership plans to host and partner on a series of Field Days this summer and fall, preparing farmers with additional information on cover crops.
