Chad Dane, a farmer from Clay County, Nebraska, discusses his experience using cover crops in a corn-soybean rotation on this week's UNL BeefWatch podcast. Beef Extension Educator Aaron Berger talks with Dane about why he first started using cover crops and what he's learned along the way from planting to germination and from soil benefits to grazing cattle.

Dane farms 3,600 acres, about 800-1,000 of which is seed corn, with the remainder in corn and soybean. About 90% is irrigated.

One of the first years Dane grew seedcorn there was a massive hail storm in August that left just 600 acres to harvest. The ground was bare and he knew he needed to do something to hold the soil in place until planting time the next spring. He flew on turnips and radishes at a cost of $32 an acre, more than twice what he paid this year at $15/acre including application. From that year, he's expanded and fine-tuned his use of cover crops, adding cereal rye to the mix as well as grazing cattle.

Download the BeefWatch podcast with Chad Dane to learn more about what's worked and what hasn't in his operation.

Access more UNL BeefWatch podcasts online.