Cereal rye and winter wheat are two of the most commonly used cover crops for corn and soybean growers, but there are some alternative cover crops with a lot of potential for helping improve soil health and cash crop yield.
The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach publication “Organic No-Till Production” provides a “how-to” for organic no-till production in Iowa, which utilizes a rolled down cover crop to facilitate weed suppression, with the commercial crop drilled, planted or transplanted into the rolled mulch.
Soybean fungicides can provide yield benefits when there are foliar diseases. Some reports show yield benefit of fungicides at low levels of disease or when disease was absent but this is not consistent.
All of society has an interest in the land used for our food production and recreation, and therefore the owners and renters have a responsibility to treat it in the best possible manner.
For over thirty years I managed farms in northwest and northcentral Iowa for absentee farm owners whom I worked closely with to make soil and water conservation an important part of our farm plans. I convinced my farm operators to stop moldboard plowing, move to chisel plows and eventually leave soybean stubble untilled in the fall.
While soybean harvest seems to be winding down, we need to be carefully monitoring the soil temperature and weather forecast before applying nitrogen-containing fertilizers this fall. Nitrogen prices remain incredibly high, making it especially critical that we retain all the nitrogen we can for the crop this coming year.
Source: Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
Rotating to soybean in the following year may help reduce the tar spot inoculum in that field. Another consideration is to plant a tar spot tolerant hybrid in that field and surrounding fields.
Source: Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
Although overwintering beetle populations are expected to be lower than last year throughout much of the state, it is important to scout for this pest.
Researchers caution that the survey results, which include ranges and other information for specific services, should only be used as a guide, and point out that actual custom rates can vary widely within the state of Iowa, let alone among various states.
As we looked at the damage, tears ran down my father’s cheeks. This was from a hero who served in the Marines during World War II and survived Iwo Jima.
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On this episode of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by CultivAce, West Union, Iowa, no-tiller Loran Steinlage checks in with a harvest update, and explains why this fall will be one of his most educational harvests yet.
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