Cover Crops, Citrus and Manganese

This is Tim Hammerich of the Ag Information Network with your Farm of the Future Report.

Regenerative ag practices aren’t always to implement, but the results of a well-thought out system executed well can surprise. Florida citrus farmer Benny McLean says he was shocked to learn that planting a cowpea cover crop could increase manganese levels, ultimately reducing input costs.

McLean… “We planted cowpeas, and in 60 days, they had all flowered, bloomed, everything, and we came in, and we cut them in. So Ben went back about 65, 70 days after we planted the cowpeas, and pulled soil samples in the same areas. Sandy soil - it increased the manganese levels by 20 percent with cowpeas. You know, and now I stand up in the, in these meetings and I say, why isn’t this public information? The growers need to know this. You know, I, the most expensive thing I gotta add to the soil is manganese if I gotta go out and buy it. And that was just cowpeas. We haven't done one with hairy indigo. We haven't done one with any of the other cover crops that are, you know, we talk about all the time.”

This interview with Benny McLean originally appeared on the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast.