Tag: cover crops

Covering Cover Crop, Nitrogen, and Markets – Listen During the 4R Summer Webinar

Posted on by Jenell Eck | Posted in EventsTagged , , , ,

Chester, Maryland (July 2, 2024) – The Delaware Maryland 4R Alliance is hosting a summer 4R webinar. Join us on July 15th at 8:30 AM for a wonderful line-up. Registration is free and available here.

The morning webinar will provide Nutrient Management, Conservation Planner, and Certified Crop Adviser credits for all attendees. The credits are currently pending and will be posted on our website once finalized.

The 4R Alliance is excited to welcome Melissa Stefun, a graduate student member of the soil quality laboratory at the University of Maryland for a presentation on N fall application on cover crops. Then Sapana Pokhrel, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Delaware, will be talking about the potential of PSNT in corn nitrogen management in long-term cover cropping systems. Lastly, Brooks York with AgriSompo will talk about market conditions, crop insurance, and future treds the industry might see.

The Delaware Maryland 4R Alliance is a collaboration between agribusinesses, farmers, government agencies, conservation groups and scientists. Working to ensure that every nutrient application on Delaware and Maryland farms is consistent with the 4Rs – the right nutrient source, applied at the right rate, at the right time, and in the right place. The alliance is focused on increasing implementation of 4R practices to benefit the economic, environmental, and social well-being of our region and our farmers. Learn more about the 4R alliance at 4RMidAtlantic.com.

Register today online at https://bit.ly/4RSummerWebinar24.

Cover Crops and the 4Rs- Five Things to Know

Posted on by 4RMidAtlantic | Posted in In the NewsTagged , , , , , , ,

Rye cover crop emerging between corn stubble- image courtesy of Practical Farmers of Iowa

Dr. Ken Staver knows a lot about cover crops. In a recent interview with the hosts of From Cloud to Cab, the Associate Research Scientist and Acting Director of the Wye Research and Education Center talked about his 30 years of research and how cover crops relate to soil health and the 4Rs- using the right nutrient source, rate, timing and placement. Here are five takeaways from that conversation:

  • Delmarva’s water quality issues are unique. When Staver’s research began in the 1980s, erosion control was the focus of conservation efforts. When it became clear that nitrogen in shallow groundwater was a higher priority for our area, cover crops emerged as the right tool for the job. Cereal grains, like rye, were a good fit with our crop rotations to take up nitrogen left in the soil after harvest.
  • Cover crops & nitrogen- it’s complicated. Can we reduce nitrogen fertilizer after a cover crop? After all, if we’re taking up nitrogen with the cover crop, shouldn’t it be possible to account for that in our nutrient management? It turns out, it’s not that simple. “There’s a large pool of nitrogen in the soil that cover crops get absorbed into”, Staver said. “Cover crops take up nitrogen that’s significant from a water quality standpoint, but it’s noise within the total supply of soil organic nitrogen.” In other words, not enough nitrogen comes back into the system from a cereal cover crop to count toward the next crop.
  • No-till is key for building soil organic matter. Cereal cover crops do have some of the more persistent forms of organic carbon and so they can build soil organic matter over time. Tillage, though, will break down organic matter faster than cover crops can build it up. If your goal is to build soil organic matter, keep tillage to a minimum.
  • Manure is a great resource, but has its challenges. A locally-available, slow-release nutrient source, manure contains macro- and micronutrients that feed both crops and soil microbes. It can’t, however, be applied with the same precision with regard to rate and timing as inorganic fertilizers.
  • Take the long view. Planting cover crops consistently adds to soil carbon and nitrogen pools, and adopting practices that support a thriving soil microbial community will cycle those nutrients over time. In the long term, it might be possible to reduce the amount of nitrogen that’s added to the system. Decision support tools- Tissue Tests, PSNTs and Nitrogen Modeling- can help to fine-tune nitrogen applications by estimating crop needs and nitrogen supplied in a given season.

The full conversation is featured in an episode of From Cloud to Cab, a podcast series for Mid-Atlantic farmers. The series is hosted by Josh Bollinger with the Harry R. Hughes Center for Agroecology and Jennifer Nelson with Resource Smart LLC. Look for a new episode every other Wednesday- you can find it on Sound Cloud, iTunes and the Google Play Store.