David Brandt knows cover crops. The Carroll, Ohio, no-tiller has been using them on his 600-acre farm since 1978 and today has a cover crop seed company to help others improve their soil health and land management practices.

Lancaster County, located about 90 minutes west of Philadelphia, is the largest livestock-producing county in Pennsylvania. It’s also the county with the most impaired streams, making it a major contributor of pollution to the Chesapeake Bay.

In an effort to curb nutrient pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland farmers have been met with strict regulations on when, how and how much fertilizer they can apply to their fields.

Back in 2009, Adam Chappell was at the end of his rope. Trying to control pigweeds on the 9,000-acre farm he shares with his brother, Seth, in Cotton Plant, Ark., was a constant fight. They were making 15 trips across the field in per growing season with sprayers and various tillage equipment, spending anywhere from $100-$200 an acre on weed control.

One of the biggest concerns and complaints no-tillers have about aerially seeding cover crops is that it doesn’t result in a good stand.

When relying on nutrient recommendations from your soil and plant test results to plan your fertility program, do you know how accurate those recommendations are?