Cover Crop Innovations in Pennsylvania.

Cover crops are grown during periods when fields would otherwise lie fallow. While they are promoted for their environmental and soil quality improving benefits, farmers are also discovering that cover crops may be used for forage if needed. The increased use of no-tillage has facilitated the use of cover crops. We will present statistics showing the rapid increase in cover crop adoption in Pennsylvania. The increased use of cover crops is causing an unprecedented wave of innovations developed by farmers, agribusinesses, researchers and service personnel to increase the benefits and improve the management of cover crops. Innovations that will be discussed include: (1) “Planting Green”, the planting of economic crops with no-till practices into cover crops that are still alive.  Experience with this practice, including planter attachments that have been developed in Pennsylvania to facilitate planting green will be presented. (2) “Cover crop cocktails”, involves planting mixtures of cover crops together to benefit from overyielding and other ways in which species complement each other. (3) Interseeding is the practice of planting cover crops into standing crops so the cover crops are already established at harvest time. New equipment used to enable interseeding, sidedress nitrogen, and apply post-emergence herbicide in a one-pass operation will be presented. (4) Harvest cover crops for forage in the spring has been used by farmers on an ‘as needed’ basis to enable them to cover unexpected shortfalls in forage needs. (5) No-till cover crops can be grazed, creating opportunities for crop-livestock integration on crop farms for improved soil health. (6) Cover crops can be used by grazers to renovate pastures, meet forage needs during the summer slump, stockpile forage and control undesired species.