Earlier this month, significant updates to the Midwest Cover Crops Council’s cover crop selector tool for Minnesota were published. A group of Minnesota researchers, agency staff, seed dealers, and farmers came together with Midwest Cover Crops Council staff to discuss and update Minnesota data in the cover crop selector tool. This revision reflects research and experience gained since the last update to Minnesota’s data in 2019.
Some of the changes you will see in the tool include:
- Recommended seeding dates have been adjusted to reflect the most recent 30-year climate normal from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
- Seeding dates for each cover crop species are specific to each county based on climate data.
- Ratings for each cover crop species were reviewed. Potential advantages including quick growth and attractiveness to beneficial insects were reviewed alongside potential disadvantages such as risk of carrying disease to the following cash crop. Each cover crop species was also reviewed for how well it typically fulfills the various goals of using a cover crop - such as how well a particular cover crop reduces erosion, helps manage weeds, or provides good grazing for livestock, among other goals.
- Recommended seeding dates and seeding rates have been changed to reflect new research and experiences. As one example, the minimum seeding rate for drilling winter cereal rye decreased from 55 lb/acre to 40 lb/acre due to research results and farmer experience. Planting dates for winter cereal rye were also extended later into the fall, and the summer seeding windows were expanded for several cover crops as well.
- A goal of “early interseeding” was added to reflect recent research that suggests which cover crop species do well when interseeded into cash crops early in the growing season. This information was incorporated into the goal ratings.
- The input for “current cash crop” now reads “cash crop growing period” alongside the anticipated planting and harvest dates. This feature overlays the cash crop growing period on the recommended planting windows for cover crops. This serves as a reminder that a cash crop is in the field and if a cover crop is to be planted, it must be interseeded into the standing crop.
- After review, the team determined that 5 cover crop species have been evaluated by farmers and researchers sufficiently for addition to the tool. These cover crops have been used in Minnesota and help fill some roles that may not be achieved by other cover crops species. These newly added species include:
- Spring triticale
- Forage sorghum
- Balansa clover
- Faba bean
- Sunn hemp
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