The Midwest Cover Crops Council in cooperation with Nebraska Extension has published two new guides with recipes for integrating cover crops into more traditional crop rotations practiced in Nebraska.

"The guides offer a starting point for growers considering or just beginning to use cover crops," said Gary Lesoing, co-author with Katja Koehler-Cole. Lesoing, an Extension educator in southeast Nebraska, is Nebraska state coordinator for the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program and Koehler-Cole is a research assistant professor in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture.

The two guides address different years in the corn-soybean rotation.

"Planting a cover crop ahead of a soybean cash crop is often the easiest way to introduce cover crops into your rotation, and where a lot of growers might start," said Koehler-Cole. The guides cover planning and preparation, fall work (timing and method of seeding, recommended seeding rates, fertility, and more), and spring work (fertilizer, termination recommendations for different conditions). The guides also offer resources for further information, including the Cover Crop Selector Tool developed by the Midwest Cover Crops Council to provide state-specific cover crop recommendations.

• Post Corn, Going to Soybean: Use Cereal Rye
• Post Soybean, Going to Corn: Use a Mix of Oats/Wheat/Rapeseed or Wheat Only