b'Farmers Ask for More Data on Cover CropsCover crop companies eye more investment in research for conservation planting. Sonja BegemannEVEN AFTER SPENDINGmore than a decade usingreal return on that investment. Couple that with uncertainty in cover crops and dedicating their farm to the practice, Kylegovernment support and its a steep hill for cover crops to climb Grumke, a western Missouri corn, soybean and forage growerfor success.admits that sometimes picking cover crop seed isnt top-of-mind until right when its needed. Make Research the PriorityI really need to be working on getting the seed I need onFor seed companies, dedicating time and resources to cover hand for fall in that July time frame, he says. It always seemscrop research is challenging because there are so many species. like were getting ready for harvest, or something comes up andInstead of investing research dollars into one or two major this slides. crops, money is divided among many different ones. This means Local co-ops often only have variety not stated (VNS) ondata for cover crops is behind that of corn, soybeans and other hand, too, he says. VNS can be a gamble because germinationtraditional cash crops.and other qualitative measures arent as certain. Cover crops are really in their infancy, says Jerry Hall, co-Until we start treating cover crops like a cash crop, were justowner of GO Seed. To really come of age, itll take a big financial throwing darts at a bullseye, and we dont even know where itcommitment in support of cover crops. There needs to be a is, Grumke says, echoing a sentiment that hits close to home forlot more research, breeding and developing varieties and there many in the cover crop seed industry. needs to be a testing and trialing system.Unlike many cash crops, farmers and suppliers dont oftenIts almost a chicken-and-egg situation. For cover crop seed dedicate as much time and resources to cover crop varieties.companies to invest dollars in research, they need farmers to In many ways, its the Wild West. While many companies areplant cover crops. For farmers to want to plant cover crops, they investing in research to improve varieties, it can be hard to seewant to see the best and heavily researched species available.44/ SEEDWORLD.COMJANUARY 2022'