Cover Crop Goals
This article was originally published in the November issue of Illinois Field & Bean magazine. Do cover crops work? That depends on the definition of “work,” according to Todd Steinacher, Illinois Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) and ILSoyAdvisor Content Coordinator. But that definition varies from farmer to farmer and even field to field. “Cover crops can help farmers achieve a variety of goals, like stabilizing soil, suppressing weeds or reducing compaction,” says Steinacher. “But the cover crop has to do what it was intended to be considered successful.” Steinacher, based in central Illinois, fields questions about cover crops every year, [...]
Adapt and Excel in Changing R&D Environment
What’s new? Does it pencil out? As farmers plan for next season, most compare new seed varieties, trait packages and crop protection options to their current programs. “When we look at new products, we want to see data and cost,” says Jenny Mennenga, who farms near LeRoy, Ill. “We need to understand where data come from, if advantages are significant, and if we will get back product costs in either yield or value. A yield change of just one or two bushels doesn’t even show up on yield maps.” Farmers traditionally have had a variety of third-party data, including [...]
and then