Benefits of Cover Crops
Today's ag producers are faced with new challenges every day. The use of cover crops can be an important management tool for addressing pressing issues such as soil erosion, nutrient runoff and moisture conservation. Wind and rain erosion are major challenges facing today's producers. Cover crops provide valuable cover to substantially reduce soil erosion. Cover crops provide a great deal of organic matter which aids in soil quality improvement. The biodegradation of organic matter provides both microbial activity and helps increase available nitrogen for subsequent crops, especially when legumes are included in the cover crop mix. Cover crops help "canopy" the soil, helping to reduce weed pressure. In turn, these crops can also provide valuable forage for livestock as well as a cover and/or forage for wildlife. With their rapidly gaining popularity, cover crops can provide many benefits for producers such as the following:
- Reduced Erosion by Wind/Rain
- Imporved Soil Quality
- Increased Nitrogen Availability
- Trapping of Available Nitrogen
- Weed Suppression
- Forage for Livestock/Wildlife