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Ag agent urges farmers to consider changes to improve cover crops
Ken Schroeder kneels in the harvested no-till corn field, finding cover crops under the snow.
An Extension agent says planting cover crops earlier is almost always better.
Ken Schroeder from Portage County, Wisconsin says, “When you get to the end of September or early October, and that’s probably about as late as we want to get and still get a decent cover. Realistically, mid to late September is a good time.”
Schroeder tells Brownfield farmers might want to change the way they manage corn and soybeans. “I can pick a little bit shorter maturing corn silage variety and yet get very similar yields to if I had a later variety, so that allows me to do a better job of establishing covers.
And, that includes corn for grain. “It really does get tough when we’re doing corn for grain because that’s a full-season crop, but if we can go with a little bit shorter maturity, maybe it will open up a little bit of a window there.”
Schroeder hosted a field day with farmers and students evaluating 2018 cover crop projects done by the Farmers of Mill Creek Watershed west of Stevens Point.
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