b'A featured segment designed to share business-critical information to seed-selling professionals. Visit SeedWorld.com to download this department STRATEGY and other tools.Cover Your Bases with Cover CropsAs the demand for cover crops increases, its time to learn the basics about how to effectively use and manage them.Joe Funk jfunk@issuesink.comIN THE HISTORYofmotivations for planting cover agriculture, U.S. farmerscrops. In 2012, farmers were have been slow to recognizelooking to reduce soil erosion the value of cover crops. Overas their reason for consider-3,000 years ago, Chineseing the use of cover crops. farmers knew how to useThe overarching trend is the cover crops to reduce soilgrowing interest the con-erosion and increase fertil- tribution cover crops make ity. Although farmers in theto improved soil health and United States have been slowfarming profitability.to embrace cover crops, theySoil health is the top are becoming fast learners.reason that farmers are using When the U.S. Departmentcover crops, says Rob Myers, of Agriculture (USDA)SARE regional coordinator Sustainable Agricultureand director of professional Research and Educationdevelopment (Extension) pro-(SARE) Program launchedgrams, University of Missouri. its first national soil healthThere are many other rea-survey in 2012, the surveysons beside soil health, but estimated 1.5 to 2.0 millionas far as the single reasonAnna Morrow serves as program manager for the Midwest Cover acres of cover crops had beenfarmers would point to forCrops Council. planted on 390 million acresthe increased interest in cover of harvested cropland. Forcrops is improving soil health.using cover crops in the west- ers motivation for planting the 2016-17 cover crop survey,There has been so muchern United States.cover crops. growers reported planting aneducation around soil healthMany people hadInterest has increased average of 451 acres. In 2012,that I think that emphasis hasassumed cover crops couldconsiderably as farmers soil erosion and soil organicsparked farmers interest innot be used in drier areas,recognize that long-term soil matter ranked as the topwhat they can do to improveMyers says. Nonetheless,health and increased profit-two concerns among farm- the health of their soil whetheryou can look across the entireability go hand in hand, he ers who used cover crops. Byit is by using cover crops orcountry and in every countysays. As more large-scale 2017, farmers concerns werethe way that they managewith farmers growing crops,farmers are proving this shifting toward long-term soiltheir soil nutrients. there are farmers grow- concept and sharing their health improvements ratherCover crops have applica- ing cover crops whether itexperience with others, use is than immediate concerns.tion in virtually every situationis cotton, corn, potatoes, orexpanding. Adoption of cover where soil is used to producevegetables. crops has increased expo-Sea-Change in Cover Cropa crop. Myers says he wasBrent Jones, manager atnentially. Farmers five years Attitudes surprised that the USDA 2017Grassland Oregons researchago who would have told us There are some big changescensus of agriculture indicatesfarm, Richland Iowa, agreesthat there is no significant taking place in farmersthere are over 120,000 farmsthere is a sea-change in farm- advantage to planting cover 18/ SEEDWORLD.COMOCTOBER 2019'