Introduction

This is posted by Gene Witte. I’m currently serving on the SWCD board. Now that we have a web site I wanted to use it as a tool to show my year long experience with annual ryegrass cover, and the tools and methods used to manage it.

I will try to do monthly updates during the season as points of interest occur.

MOTIVATION!

A person has to have a desire or need to try something different. A person also has to follow through with enough effort to make it work correctly.

Mine came from an experience of plowing up a grass pasture that was no longer needed. The ground was so mellow, even the clay knobs fell right apart. This changed after three years of doing conventional tillage. The clay knobs became harder, gullies started to form due to increased water runoff.

I’ve noticed the same thing happen when I bulldozed out a fence row to make two small fields one big one. For the first three years the crops over the fence row were noticeably bigger as compared to the rest of the field.

Thus my term FENCE ROW DIRT is what I want to strive for over all my acreage. This is why I have such an interest in cover crops.

Cover crops and limited tillage will help us as farmers to get closer to FENCE ROW DIRT.

Cover crops also protect the soil surface from direct sunlight and the impact of rain. This increases the time earthworms and other soil organisms have to do there job of breaking down crop residue.

With increased organic matter there is more water holding capacity. A higher level of stored carbon is also maintained. This than can lead to a reduced need for commercial fertilizer. Who wouldn’t appreciate that today?

From an erosion standpoint you get more infiltration and less runoff.