By Dean Baas, Michigan State University Extension
Interseeding Cover Crops Field Day on Oct. 21, 2015, will highlight methods and equipment for planting cover crops into standing crops.
Farmers recognize the many benefits cover crops contribute to the soil and their cropping systems. Cover crops can increase profitability through increased yields, reduced fertilizer costs and reduced weed management costs while helping retain nutrients that might leave the field by runoff, leaching or wind erosion, making those nutrients available for the next crop.
Farmer challenges to late-season planting of cover crops after harvest include time, resources and successful establishment. Interseeding cover crops into standing crops prior to harvest can address these challenges. Aerial seeding is the most widely used cover crop interseeding method. In addition to aerial seeding, new equipment for early season establishment of cover crops have recently become available. Examples include the Hagie Highboy seeder and the Penn State Interseeder.
Farmers interested in exploring the benefits of early established cover crops and alternatives for cover crop interseeding are invited to attend an Interseeding Cover Crops Field Day on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015, in St Joseph County at the Larry Walton Farm in Nottawa, Michigan. The program begins at 10 a.m. and continues until 2 p.m. with lunch provided. There is no cost for attending this field day.
The Interseeding Cover Crops Field Day will be an opportunity for participants to tour plots interseeded with cover crops in standing corn using aerial and highboy seeding methods. There will a Hagie Highboy Seeder and the Penn State Interseeder on exhibit. The Hagie Highboy Seeder will be demonstrated. Participants will also be able to view 12 different cover crop plots and learn more from a soil root pit.
Too far to drive? To facilitate participants that wish to attend, two buses will be provided at no cost. One will be departing from Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, and the second from Clio, Michigan, with a number of pickup stops in route to the field day. Pickup locations are indicated in the field day brochure. Participants that wish to ride a bus can indicate their preferred bus and pickup location at registration.