Don’t leave your fields naked if taking the prevent plant option on corn and soybean ground – Farms underwater won’t have a choice but farmers still have options.

• Grasses (oats, annual ryegrass, winter cereals, and summer grasses) build soil organic matter quickly while generating the most above and below ground biomass. Oats can be planted at any time outside the winter months and is the least cost option. Be aware that the heat of summer is not ideal for oats, but they can still be successfully utilized. Oats can be drilled at 30-60 lbs. per acre and at a depth of ½ to 1 ½ inches. If you are looking for weed control, summer grasses like sorghum-sudangrass is a good option. Sorghum-sudangrass can be planted early summer. Summer grasses will winter-kill, but their residues will continue to provide some protection through the winter and next spring. Winter cereals and annual ryegrass are another option but realize when you planted them early they may not perform the same as when they are planted later in the season. Winter cereals and annual ryegrass can be planted mid-to-late summer and are winter hardy requiring termination next spring.
• Legumes fix atmospheric nitrogen providing a source for next year’s crop. Red clover or berseem clover can be planted early summer, while for late summer planting consider crimson clover, sweet clover, hairy vetch or winter peas.
• Non-Legumes Broadleaves (Brassicas), such as radishes, mustards, and rapeseed, have taproots to break up compaction and improve permeability plus are also excellent nitrogen scavengers. Brassicas can be planted late summer. Planting radish before August can result in bolting and going to seed, limiting the size of the taproot. Mowing can be used to help prevent bolting in some cases.

Summer annual cover crop species are ideal to prevent plant situations, but each come with their own concerns. Cool season cereals such as rye, wheat, and barley planted in the heat of the summer will not produce as much biomass, may not overwinter successfully, and will be at increased disease risk.

There are reasons to look beyond these species to meet your cover crop needs. A few of these considerations are listed below.

• Cover crop seed availability is limited for many species. Contact your seed dealer to find out what species are available and affordable to you.
• Teff is small seeded and does well when planted with a Brillion seeder or cultipacker.
• Sunn Hemp thrives in warm climates and will have more nitrogen benefit in southern regions of the Midwest.
• Sunflowers are susceptible to white mold.
• Buckwheat is successful in a short timeframe but goes to seed quickly.

Specific questions can be directed to those who specialize in cover crops such as Extension Educators, Cover Crop Seed persons and even your experienced neighbors who have been using cover crops for years.

• Managing Weed Pressure – If you are planning to use cover crops in fields with heavy broadleaf weed pressure (i.e. marestail, waterhemp, etc.), consider using a grass species as a cover crop so that broadleaf herbicides can be utilized to manage weed populations over the summer.
• Seed Availability – If summer annual cover crop (listed above) seed availability is low, you might consider controlling weeds until August and then planting a cool season species or mix.
• Grazing/Forage Harvest – Discuss insurance details and payments with your agent. Cover crops may be harvested/grazed after November 1, or harvested/grazed before November 1 for partial payment on prevented plant acres.
• Residual Herbicides – Consider herbicides that may have already been applied in anticipation of cash crops. Refer to herbicide labels for details. Brassica and legume cover crops can be especially sensitive to residual herbicides.
• Preparing for Wheat – If you plan to plant wheat this fall, a cover crop that fits in a short window and produces nitrogen is ideal. Cowpea and Mung Bean are legumes that are appropriate for a short window in the summer months. Wheat contaminated with buckwheat seed can affect export to Japan. Other cereal crops such as rye can also be a problematic contaminate in wheat.

1. Plant a cover crop during or after the late planting period and do not hay or graze this cover crop before November 1 to receive a full prevented planting payment.
2. Plant a cover crop during or after the late planting period and do hay or graze this cover crop before November 1 and receive no prevented planting payment.
3. Plant a cover crop after the late planting period and do hay or graze this cover crop before November 1 and receive 35 percent of a prevented planting payment for your first crop.