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Big Flats Plant Materials Cover Crop Tour and Workshop

On November 4, 2011, 85 people gathered at the USDA NRCS Big Flats Plant Materials Center, in Corning, New York, for the 3rd annual Cover Crop Workshop. The day’s events started off with a field tour of the cover crop ‘cocktail mixes’ seeded at different times and a roller crimper demonstration. David Brandt, a farmer from Ohio, spoke about his operation and success with no till and cover crops for over 30 years. Then Paul Salon, Plant Materials Specialist, took the group to the time of seeding cover crops plots, where attendees could see the differences in the establishment and growth of the cover crops, in relation to seeding date. Over 30 species were observed most with multiple planting dates.

Ray Archuleta, Conservation Agronomist from USDA NRCS East National Technology Center in North Carolina, gave a powerful demonstration on the impacts of tillage and its effects on overall soil health After lunch, the remaining speakers took the stage and included; Tom Kilcer, former Extension Agent and Consultant, on the economics of using short rotations and cover crops for harvest; Quirine Ketterings-Cornell University talked about fall and spring accumulation of Nitrogen (N) and Carbon (C) cycling with cover crops planted in mid-august and mid-September; David Brandt a farmer from Ohio spoke about no-till and cover crops on his 900 acre grain farm; Ray Styer, a farmer from North Carolina, told us about his 30 years of experiences with no-till and cover crops where he grows corn silage for his beef operation; and Tom Bjorkman, from Cornell University, presented on brassica cover crops.

Ohio farmer David Brandt has been no-tilling since 1971 and cover cropping since 1978 on 900 acres. In this video, David described the benefits of his pea and tillage radish cover crops. Cover crops can increase yield and profits because of improved soil health and they can reduce or eliminate the need for commercial fertilizers on crop fields. Watch the video.

Below are the handouts from the day, with a wide variety of topics touched upon. You will find information on the winter and summer crop mixes, the demonstration plots and seeding rates from this year at the Plant Materials Center. Information on soil health, roller crimpers, results from cover crop studies, and a comprehensive guide to the cover crops species commonly used in the Northeast is also available. Please feel free to call us at the Big Flats Plant Materials Center at 607-562-8404 with any questions or any other information you may be interested in. Hope to see you next year!

The following documents require Adobe Reader.

Handouts Provided at the Cover Crop Tour and Workshop	Click image for full screen view
A Comprehensive Guide to Cover Crop Species Used in the Northeast United States (PDF; 445 KB)
Cereal Rye Cultivar Trial (PDF; 31 KB)
Corn Silage Interseeding Study (PDF; 15 KB)
Cover Cropping and Related Web Sites (PDF; 47 KB)
Forage Radish: New Multi-Purpose Cover Crop for the Mid-Atlantic (PDF; 451 KB)
Nitrogen Benefits of Winter Cover Crops (PDF; 66 KB)
NRCS New York Conservation Practice Specification - Cover Crop (PDF; 27 KB)
Seeding Rates - Cover Crop Demonstration Seeding at Big Flats PMC 2011 (PDF; 31 KB)
Soil Glue - Soil Quality Fact Sheet (PDF; 2.4 MB)
Summer Cover Crop Options (PDF; 132 KB)
Soil Health (PDF; 1.4 MB)
The Knife Roller (Crimper): An Alternative Kill Method for Cover Crops (PDF; 1.3 MB)
2001 Demonstration Plot Layout (PDF; 29 KB)
Cover Crops for Conservation Tillage Systems (PDF; 60 KB)