Cover Crops on the Rise in the US, Domestic Horse NWS Positive

University of Missouri professor and Center for Regenerative Agriculture director Dr. Robert Myers discusses findings from the latest cover crop survey. This report, released every two years, included findings such as growing trends and the increased use of drones when it comes to cover cropping strategies.

“About 16% of the farmers we surveyed had used drones in some way for cover crop seeding. In most cases, they were hiring somebody else to come in and do the seeding with a drone. But a few, about 3% of them, were using their own drones that they had purchased. So 16% doesn't sound like a lot, but when you consider there's about 20 million acres of cover crops, that's about 3 million acres that, in theory, are being seeded by drones.”

Dr. Myers says farmers are turning to drones primarily for two reasons: precise timing and improved accuracy on smaller fields. “One is to get the seeds on at the time they want them. It can be hard to find an airplane to spread them when you want, or maybe they're trying to get the seed on prior to harvest of the corn or soybeans, for example, and so they can do that with a drone. They also commented that for a smaller, more irregularly shaped field, it's a lot easier to do that with a drone.” Because it doesn't have to fly a big rectangular pattern.

And the USDA has confirmed the first New World screwworm infection in a U.S. horse. It involves a working horse in Presidio County, Texas.