Cover Crop Customers' Fields
"The tool provides a county by county chart for member states with recommendations on what can be planted and when it should be planted in that county," said Tom Kaspar, USDA-ARS. "It also will say how best to take up N. For example, a legume is not as good as grass; however you may want to plant the legume if planning a corn crop following corn."
Kaspar said maintaining the biological life cycle is one more reason to plant a cover crop, adding it to nutrient banking, biomass production and soil erosion prevention. "You want a year round, diverse, microbiological population so one organism doesn't dominate," said Kaspar. "You have fewer problems with disease, better residue decomposition and an increase in earthworms. Cover crops make sense, even though it may be tough at times to make the investment.