Planting

Seventeen is not only the number of years Tom Cotter has experimented with cover crops on his southern Minnesota farm; it’s also the number of species he uses in his mix.

Picture this: a tall, green field of corn growing like glory but struggling with what looks like a serious weed problem. Hang on a minute – those aren’t weeds, they’re alfalfa seedlings. Come again?

Heavy clay and variable to wet soils present a conundrum – while they often need the closest management, they are at the same time the most challenging to manage.

I have talked with several farmers over the years that have tried frost seeding to renovate pastures, improve their forage stand or alter the species mix in their hay and pasture fields.

There is something special about legumes that set them apart from other forages.

Legumes have the ability to sustain beneficial relationships with soil bacteria.

We used to use fall dormancy to estimate winter hardiness of alfalfa; however, plant breeders have broken the relationship over ranges of fall dormancy. Now we have the opportunity to choose differing combinations of the two traits to best suit individual producer needs.