FOR THE LAST five years, the USDA SARE annual cover crop survey has reported increasing farmer interests in cover crops. Both the number of farmers planting cover crops and the cover crop acreage per farm are increasing. The corresponding demand for cover crop seed is also on the rise, yet there are very few new seed options developed specifically for cover crop applications. In the Midwest corn and soybean production region, seed companies spend millions of dollars to release new hybrids and varieties each year. Where are the new cover crop varieties? Who is researching new cover crop varieties? La Crosse Seed, La Crosse, Wisc. is a regional wholesale distributor of forage, cover crop, turf and native seeds that works with domestic and multinational seed developers and producers to evalu- ate and introduce new cover crop varie- ties into the market. Even with the increasing interest in cover crops, the new varieties being mar- keted by La Crosse Seed for cover crop planting were initially developed for other purposes and subsequently were found to have an application as a cover crop. “The growth in cover crop seed demand has caught the attention of both U.S. and multinational small seed breeding companies,” says La Crosse Seed President Dan Foor. “DLF and PH Peterson, for example, have continued to showcase new products with cover crop applications. Others like Grassland Oregon and Blue Moon Farms here in the States Few new varieties are being developed specifically for cover crops, as most are being selected. Joe Funk jfunk@issuesink.com FINDING NEW COVER CROP VARIETIES have interesting programs for evaluating value-added traits in species.” Foor says. Money and Time “It all goes back to money,” says Nick Bowers, co-owner of KB Seed Solutions in Linn County, Oregon, located in the heart of the ‘Grass Seed Capital of the World’. “It takes money and time to develop any new variety. Farmers will pay for improved corn or soybean seed because it holds the promise of increased yield and more income per acre.” The time required to develop and bring a new cover product is about 10 to 15 years. The time to evaluate and select an existing variety for a cover crop appli- cation is three to five years. Some cover seeds – especially tillage 122 / SEEDWORLD.COM DECEMBER 2017 Annual ryegrass in Iowa corn stalks. PHOTO: USDA NRCS