This week we welcome strip-tiller Mike Verdonck to share how he adopted a constant cover cropping system to accelerate soil recovery after harvesting cash crops as well as some of the soil rehabilitative benefits of combining cover crops and strip-till.

Manure is being used on cover crops to help keep nutrients from escaping during fall and winter.

Following the use of cover crops, farmers reported increased yields of corn, soybeans and wheat, and improved control of herbicide-resistant weeds, according to a nationwide survey. In addition, the survey of 2,012 farmers showed acreage planted in cover crops has nearly doubled over the past five years.

In this FREE, 14-page eGuide edition of “Innovative Opportunities to Increase Soil Biology in Strip-Till,” be immersed in expert soil biology boosting tips, tricks and techniques designed to push your strip-till farm to the next level!

Soil health is rooted in a comprehensive farm management strategy. Knowing how to utilize natural soil heal stimulants to maximize crop production is an objective of Aaron Hird, Nebraska's NRCS state soil health specialist. Hird shares soil health principals promoted by the NRCS including the use of dual purpose cover crops for grazing as well as other opportunities to enhance a strip-till system.

In this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by NovAtel, Dr. Joel Gruver, professor of Soil Science and Sustainable Agriculture in the School of Agriculture at Western Illinois University, shares some of the key takeaways from his on-farm collaboration with farmers on how they've utilized cover crops as a systematic puzzle piece.

A record number of Iowa farmers signed up to install nutrient reduction practices -- including cover crops, no-till/strip till or nitrification inhibitors -- on their farms through the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s statewide water quality cost share program.

Check out the latest cover crop seeds from some of the industry's leading suppliers.