Cover Your Assets with Cover Crops
Cover crops are like fields of super heroes: they prevent erosion, improve soil health, suppress weeds, improve organic matter, and improve water retention.
That’s why Ashland Soil and Water Conservation District will be hosting a Conservation Chat on April 21 to help producers learn more about the benefits of covering their assets with cover crops at the Andy Hall farm at Jeromesville. Hall was one Ashland County’s participants in the Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative’s (OACI) Beginning Cover Crop program in 2020.
As part of the program, Hall was able to aerially seed cover crops onto about 40 acres of cropland last fall using 100 percent cost share, and the program will pay for his cover crops for the next two years as well with partial cost share for years four and five.
Aerial seeded cover crops during 2020 harvest
“Cover crops are one of our most important conservation tools,” said Erica White, Jerome Fork watershed coordinator at Ashland SWCD. “Especially with the hilly, glacial terrain we have here in Ashland County, it’s vital that we take steps to preserve and protect our topsoil for the long-term sustainability of our farmland. Erosion is a serious challenge our farmers farce, and cover crops are a a key strategy for controlling erosion.
During the Conservation Chat, White will talk with producers about the different cover crop programs available through Ashland SWCD: Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District’s (MWCD) cover crop cost share, cost share for precision conservation modeling, reduced no-till drill rental rates for cover crop seeding, county-wide cover crop seeding, and the district’s newest program: a cover crop interseeder funded through MWCD’s Partners in Watershed Management program.
No-tilling into a regress cover crop mix during 2020 planting
Interseeders are designed to plant cover crops into standing cash crops like corn or soybeans about 6 weeks after the initial cover crop is planted. This allows the cover crop to establish, but the canopy from the cash crop restricts the cover crop growth until after the cash crop is harvested. When the canopy opens up at harvest, the cover crop is already established and ready to take advantage of early fall growth.
Ryan Haden from Ohio State University will be on hand to talk about Ohio State’s research interceding cover crops. He will be joined by Craig Houin from Sunrise Cooperative who will talk about precision conservation and how models like the Adapt-N nitrogen model can account for cover crops in nutrient recommendations and optimize fertilizer efficiency and return on investment.
Also in the lineup of speakers for the evening will be West Holmes FFA’s Ag Issues team, who will be sharing information on the use of ag technology like crop modeling tools to improve water quality in the Mohican watershed. Team member Garrett Houin has been working with White to develop a proposal for Precision Conservation in the Mohican Watershed through the Caring for Our Watersheds student competition, and is currently a top-ten finalist for Ohio. As a finalist, Houin was awarded $1,000 to implement precision conservation modeling tools in the Mohican watershed and will be competing against other students from across Ohio at the end of April for cash awards.
The Cover Your Assets Conservation Chat will be held at the Andy Hall farm, 1567 County Road 175, Jeromesville. Registration is free and includes a meal, but reservations are required to reserve a meal and ensure social distancing. Reservations can be made online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/conservation-chats-cover-your-assets-tickets-142569397907?aff=ebdssbeac or by calling the Ashland SWCD office at 419-281-7645.
Conservation Chats will be held monthly in 2021 with additional programs set for May 19 on Pollinator Points, June 16 on Interseeder Intro, and July 21 on Oh Crap! For more information, visit www.ashlandswcd.com