No-till Cover Crops Field Day September 23

No-till Cover Crops Field Day September 23

September 12, 2008

Applications will be taken until Dec. 1 for the next round of NCR SARE farmer rancher grants. Learn more.

A No-till Cover Crops Field Day will be held Tuesday, September 23, at the Brian and Keith Berns farm near Bladen. The Berns brothers, along with several cooperators, received a grant from the North Central Region of the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NCR SARE) program to study various cover crops and combinations no-tilled into wheat stubble.

They will be no-tilling corn into the field next spring and will evaluate the effects of various cover crops on soil moisture, nitrogen, and the corn crop. These farmer rancher grants allow producers to test or implement a sustainable agriculture practice that is new to them or help them educate others and demonstrate a sustainable agriculture practice that could be used more widely in the area. The Berns will be doing both, leaning about cover crop options and sharing their experiences.

Program

With the help of several sponsors and cooperating agencies, the Berns are hosting the field day to show 20 cover crops sowed in 25 plots. Registration for the free field day starts at 8 a.m. with the program beginning at 9 a.m. In addition to viewing the various cover crops, the morning program will feature Ray Ward of Ward Labs in Kearney looking at the soil structure and nutrient aspects of cover crops and an NRCS representative discussing the EQIP Cover Crop Program.

The afternoon program will look at forage and grazing options for cover crops.

Program sponsors will provide a free lunch for participants.The Berns brothers' farm is located l3 miles south and 2.5 miles west of Blue Hill on Highway 281 or 14 miles north and 1.5 miles east of Red Cloud on Highway 281.

For more information on the field day, check these Web sites:

Paul J Jasa
Extension Engineer

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A field of corn.