Robert’s cover crop playbook is probably different than yours. There are many ways to effectively seed covers. In the No-Till Farmer Email Discussion Group, we asked, “How are you seeding cover crops?” Let’s see what you said.

“I use a 15-inch Kinze planter. I can go in the field right after harvest and I can make sure I get the cover crop seed into moisture. When we have dry conditions, I can still get a good stand. I’m thinking about using a drone to get some seed out before harvest, but not all the cover crop seed.” – Gary Asay, Osco, Ill.

“We use a Horsch 60-foot, 10-inch spacing air seeder. In the eastern belt, where we have dry falls, or flooding in the fall/winter, it’s important to plant the covers and get good seed to soil contact. We use pre-mixed multi-species programs so we can just put the bag into the seed tender and quickly refill the seeder. We can plant 600 acres a day pretty easily.” – Ken Rulon, Arcadia, Ind. 

“We plant our cover crops like we do a cash crop, with a drill. Drilling the cover crops allows us to get seeds placed through residue and into the soil, so we don’t depend on rain. This gets the cover crop germinated and emerged as fast as possible, at a time of year where every day makes a big difference in growth. We also fertilize our cover crops. This same fertilizer is then utilized by the following corn or soybean crop.” – Phil Needham, Calhoun, Ky. 

“We’ve used everything you can think of over the decades. To get seed out there ahead of the frost, most of it now gets applied with a large drone.” – Rod Sommerfield, Mazeppa, Minn. 

Speaking of cover crops, let’s check in with Mackane Vogel now for today’s Cover Crop Connection. 

Watch the full Video of this episode of Conservation Ag Update.