{"id":21785,"date":"2020-10-29T08:55:25","date_gmt":"2020-10-29T15:55:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/plantingseedsblog.cdfa.ca.gov\/wordpress\/?p=21785"},"modified":"2020-10-29T08:55:25","modified_gmt":"2020-10-29T15:55:25","slug":"cover-crop-survey-finds-benefits-from-planting-green-from-agripulse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/plantingseedsblog.cdfa.ca.gov\/wordpress\/index.php\/2020\/10\/29\/cover-crop-survey-finds-benefits-from-planting-green-from-agripulse\/","title":{"rendered":"Cover crop survey finds benefits from ‘planting green’ – from AgriPulse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Steve Davies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than half of farmers who seeded their cash crop into a growing cover crop last year \u2014 a practice known as \u201cplanting green\u201d \u2014 said it helped them plant earlier than than they could in fields that didn’t have cover crops, according to an annual survey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDespite the crippling spring rains of 2019, 54.3% of respondents said they were able to plant cash crops sooner in their green-planted fields than in fields where cover crops were either terminated early or were not present,\u201d said the Conservation Technology Information Center’s annual survey report<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 10% said the practice delayed planting, while 36% said they planted fields at about the same time, whether or not a cover crop was present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The numbers reflect those who planted green, about 52% of the nearly 1,200 respondents in the survey of 2019 cover crop practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seven in 10 of those farmers also said planting green improved their weed control, and about the same percentage said it helped with soil moisture management,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The survey \u201cindicated that some of the concerns that many growers have had about the effects of cover crops on planting dates in a wet year turned out not to be true,\u201d said CTIC\u2019s Mike Smith, who ran the survey. \u201cIn fact, in many cases, cover crops helped farmers plant earlier in the very wet spring of 2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report also found significant percentages of farmers who said cover crops increased yields, resulted in better weed management, and helped them save on herbicides and fertilizer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cover crops are increasingly being touted as a way to save money and improve the environment, by reducing runoff from fields, cutting chemical use, and sequestering carbon in the soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rob Myers, regional director of extension programs for North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, said in a news release<\/a> that \u201cmany farmers are finding that cover crops improve the resiliency of their soil, and the longer they use cover crops, the greater the yield increases and cost savings that are reported by producers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Farmers who plant cover crops continue to seed more acres. \u201cThe average acreage planted to cover crops by participants \u2026 has steadily increased over the past five growing seasons,\u201d from an average of 337 acres in 2015 to 465 acres last year, an increase of about 38%, the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s in line with findings from USDA\u2019s Census of Agriculture, which found a 50% increase in cover crop acreage between 2012 and 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yield increases in 2019 were more modest than in past years, the report said. In 2019, soybean yields improved 5% and corn yields increased 2% and spring wheat yields were 2.6% higher following cover crops. The largest yield increases were recorded in the drought year of 2012. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report said, \u201cWhile farmers appreciate the yield benefits of cover crops, additional questions in the survey clearly indicate that they are also motivated by cover crops\u2019 abilities to deliver other benefits, like weed control, soil health, erosion control, livestock grazing and so many others,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Not surprisingly for a group with a strong interest in a powerful soil health building practice such as cover crops, no-till was the dominant residue management practice among respondents,” the report said. “The most popular answer to ‘what tillage practice do you use most on your farm?’ was continuous no-till, practiced by 48% (466 of 981) of the respondents, while rotational no-till was employed by another 14% (138), for a total of 600 farmers (62%) practicing some sort of no-till.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 19% of the respondents were horticulture producers, defined as growers of vegetables, fruits and nuts. Asked to check any of five answers to the question – \u201cWhat are your primary reasons for using cover crops?\u201d – 94% cited improvement in soil structure or soil health; 81% said improving weed management; 71% said reducing soil erosion; and 64% said improving water infiltration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the horticulture producers, 28.6% said use of cover crops had allowed them to significantly decrease their tillage, with about an equal percentage saying it had slightly decreased their tillage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMore than half of the horticulture crop producers attributed an increase in profitability to their cover crops,\u201d the report said. \u201cOf 184 farmers who answered the question, 34.8% (64) reported a moderate increase in net profit \u2014 defined in the question as an increase of 5% or more \u2014 and 23.4% (43) reported a minor increase of 2 to 4% in net profit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The survey was conducted with with financial support from Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education and the American Seed Trade Association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are pleased to see farmers appreciate the expertise of cover crop seed companies, with 46% saying they buy from them and another 42% buying from retailers,\u201d said Jane DeMarchi, ASTA\u2019s vice president of government and regulatory affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cProfessionally produced cover crop seed is grown for seed from the start and has been selected, harvested, cleaned and tested for performance. The study shows farmers are using a range of cover crop seed and mixes to address their individual needs, with 46% paying $15 or under per acre,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some other highlights from the report:<\/p>\n\n\n\n