Cover Crop Conference

Cover Crop Conference

Rick Worthington
Rick Worthington
The annual Cover Crop Conference, which is coming up next week, starting October 4th, will examine the role of cover crops in soil and water quality against a backdrop of diminished protections.

Dr. Jim Stute explains, this year's emphasis on water and soil reflects an increasingly important concern.

"It's identified by EPA as something that needs to be addressed, and so we're going to talk about soil quality, but more importantly water quality and how farmers are using cover crops to try to keep the water clean, to keep the nutrients and sediment load out of the watershed."

Those who attend will hear from farmers who practice cover cropping and have the opportunity to observe on-farm demonstrations, to see first-hand how cover cropping can impact water quality.

Stute says this day-long conference will have great appeal to a wide variety of people engaged in production agriculture.

"Any farmer that's interested in conserving their soil, any farmer that's interested in soil health, and the positive impacts that it has on the yields of crops that follow the cover crop, and agency personnel - so, anyone that works in the area of conservation," he adds.

Other topics include no-till cover crops after wheat, and interseeding clover into corn.

According to Stute, the benefits of cover cropping have become more and more apparent to farmers. With diminished EPA oversight expected, the decisions farmers make will have a greater impact on everyone.

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