You may still get the last of your crops in the ground after this spring’s planting, but it’s not too early to consider planting cover crops this fall to (quite literally) become one of the most valuable assets of to cover your farm: the ground.
Cover crops are a win-win for farmers: they reduce erosion, build organic matter, improve water quality and even help suppress weeds. But unlike other long-term conservation practices, planting cover crops requires an annual commitment and expense. That’s why the Ashland Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) is once again offering a variety of incentives to producers who plant cover crops in the county.
Cover crops are even more important here in Ashland County than in many other parts of the state because of our topography. In the southern part of the province we have higher slopes that really need winter cover to prevent erosion, and in the northern part of the province we have a lot of concerns about compaction and standing water. Cover crops can help with both problems.
Cover crops are plants that are planted for the primary purpose of covering the ground, rather than being planted primarily for harvest or as a cash crop. Cover crops are a long-term investment in soil health, but because soil biology changes slowly over time, it may take several years for cover crops to provide a positive return on the investment, even as improvements begin to occur in the soil. first year of planting.
Cover crops are like a field full of mini superheroes. They can combat compaction by breaking through a plow pan, improve biodiversity, attract pollinators and they can help combat our changing weather patterns. They can increase soil organic matter to hold and retain more water during heavy rains, and a mat of cover crops in the field can also help prevent soil moisture from being lost to evaporation during drought.
Cover crops are a top priority in Ashland County
All of these benefits, combined with the filtering power of cover crops, can have a significant impact on water quality. That’s why the Ashland SWCD board has identified growing cover crops in Ashland County as one of their top priorities, and the county is committed to providing numerous incentives for Ashland-area farmers to use cover crops on their farms.
The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District has made a long-term commitment to supporting cover crop use through its cost-share program, and this year we expect cost-sharing will again be offered for up to 500 acres of cover crops within MWCD boundaries. Farmers within the immediate watershed of any of MWCD’s lakes do not have a maximum area in their fields for cost sharing. Traditionally, the bid was $12 per acre cost share.
Farmers can also benefit from using Ashland SWCD’s cover crop interseeder, equipment purchased through MWCD’s Partners in Watershed Management grant program to encourage producers to try direct seeding cover crops into a standing cash crop 6 to 8 weeks after planting the cash crop. Our interseeder has even been used at the Ohio Farm Bureau’s Blanchard River Demonstration Farm, where the process and results are shared on social media.
The idea is that when the crop is harvested, a cover crop is already established
At seeding, the cover crop begins to establish, but because the cash crop has a head start, the canopy shades it, slowing its growth. The result is that when the cash crop is harvested in the fall, the cover crop is already present in the field, so farmers don’t have to battle unpredictable fall rains to get their cover crop sown. When the canopy opens during harvest, the cover crop really blossoms and the ground is never without cover and protection from erosion.
This will be the sixth year that Ashland SWCD will coordinate a national cover crop seeding program in early September. Aerial seeding and seeding into a growing cash crop can be great options for many farmers in Ashland County.
We have large farmers who use the aerial seeding program as insurance to seed part of their hectare with cover crops so they don’t have to worry about finding the right weather winds to replant all their fields after harvest to be able to come. And we also have smaller farmers who use the air program, especially if they still have an off-farm job. There is a lot of value in the time savings they have knowing that someone else has already taken care of the seeding of their ground covers and that their ground covers will be ready to protect their most valuable resource: their soil.
Additionally, beginning in July, Ashland SWCD will offer reduced no-till drill rental rates of $10/acre to use for establishing cover crops. During the spring, the rental rate for their drills is $12/acre. For more information about participating in one of Ashland SWCD’s cover crop incentive programs, contact Eikleberry at 419-289-4248 or at ewhite@ashlandcounty.org.
Jane Houin is director of the Ashland Soil & Water Conservation District.
This article originally appeared in Ashland Times Gazette: Many soil, environmental and agricultural benefits to cover crops
