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Planting cereal rye as a cover crop provides numerous short- and long-term agronomic and environmental benefits. Although inconsistent, under certain situations the yield of corn planted into the residue of a rye cover crop may be reduced.

LaPorte City, Iowa, farmer Dean Fehl shares his 'keep it simple' strategy for developing a successful strip-till operation, which has contributed to a double-digit increase in corn yield and helped solve some of the challenges he faced no-tilling corn into soybean stubble.

During this webinar event held Tuesday, April 8th, 2014, Walton, Ind., no-tiller Cameron Mills shared timely tips for getting complete control and desiccation of annual ryegrass prior to planting.

What are some good options to control ryegrass with a short turnaround to plant back to corn? When addressing this question we have to realize that some of this ryegrass is likely glyphosate-resistant (GR). Though we do not have it officially confirmed at this point, I am confident from the last couple years' field observations that Tennessee does have a few fields with glyphosate-resistant ryegrass.

For growers who may have planted cover crops last fall, it will be very important to apply an effective burndown to these species in the coming weeks.

Talking with farmers and equipment manufacturers, there is still a fair amount of uncertainty about how to best marry cover crops and strip-till.

In a time of tight supplies of both forage and agricultural land, many producers are interested in making use of cover crops as alternative forages. Most cover crop species used in Michigan also have a long history of use as forage crops for livestock and offer great potential for dual use to improve soil while providing forage. However, if the cover-cropped acreage is also enrolled in a crop insurance program, Michigan State University Extension reminds farmers that it is important to recognize how intended use as forage may impact the insurance policy.

Cover crops can be excellent systems to capture excess nutrients and reduce the risk of erosion over the winter months.