3 Cover Crop Mistakes to Avoid

Some farmers may be hesitant to plant cover crops out of a concern that mistakes will thwart their desired outcome, and with the time and money investment required, being risk-averse is understandable.

However, cover crops—which you typically grow between the harvest and the planting season of your cash crop, provide lots of benefits that far outweigh investment risks, including creating forage for your livestock, helping to prevent soil erosion, managing soil fertility, managing soil quality and water retention, and managing weeds, pests and diseases in your fields—not to mention improving wildlife habitats and diversity.

The best way to avoid errors with your cover crops is to learn from the errors made by early adopters of the technique. Heed these three mistakes to avoid.

Not Setting Goals

First, you should have a clear understanding about what you want to accomplish by planting a cover crop, since different crops perform different tasks. Do you want to enhance the health of your soil? Do you want to minimize erosion, or feed your livestock? Knowing your goals will inform which seeds you choose.

For example, legumes enrich your soil with nitrogen, grass cover crops create a mat that can smother weeds, and brassicas break up hardpan soil.

Not Planting Right Away

Farming experts say you should be as equally diligent with cover crops as you are with cash crops. Just as readily as you would plant your cash crop on the very first day in the planting season, you should do the same with cover crops. Plant your cover crops as soon as possible after your cash crop is harvested. The longer you delay you will be defeating the purpose.

Not Terminating Crops in a Timely Manner

While you want your cover crops to grow and perform their intended purposes, you don’t want them to grow for too long. Although many cover crops die in the winter, cool-season crops might not—and deciding when to terminate them in the spring can be difficult. If you allow them to grow for too long they can become weed-like and soak up groundwater and nutrients, which can jeopardize your cash crop to come. So, if you’re not sure when to terminate your cover crops in the spring, it’s best to go ahead and remove them.

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