A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO NO-TILL & COVER CROPS IN THE MID-ATLANTIC 1 A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO NO-TILL AND COVER CROPS Funded by a Northeast SARE Professional Development Grant This material is PROJECT COORDINATORS Project ADVISORS based upon work Bridgett Hilshey Christine Hall supported by the Agricultural Specialist State Resource Conservationist National Institute of North Jersey RC&D New Jersey USDA-NRCS Food and Agriculture, Christian Bench U.S. Department of Nick Saumweber Agricultural Specialist Assistant State Conservationist for Agriculture, through North Jersey RC&D Field Operations the Northeast New Jersey USDA-NRCS Sustainable Laura Tessieri Executive Director Eric Rosenbaum Agriculture Research North Jersey RC&D and Education Rosetree Consulting LLC program under Kristen Meistrell subaward number Stewardship Project ENE19-157. Director - South New Jersey Audubon Lamonte Garber Watershed Restoration Coordinator Stroud Water Research Center Developed by North Jersey RC&D We are a non-profit dedicated to community needs through conservation. North Jersey RC&D promotes sustainable agriculture through partnerships, education, and innovation. Learn more at www.northjerseyrcd.org 2 CONTRIBUtors Cali Alexander Virginia Lamb Northeast Organic Farming Groundwork Education and Association of New Jersey Consulting Lisa Blazure Joel Myers Soil Health Coordinator Myers Farm Stroud Water Research Center State Agronomist (retired) Pennsylvania USDA-NRCS Michael D. Braucher Mohrsville, PA Kristen Meistrell Brittany Dobrzynski Stewardship Project Director - South Stewardship Project Coordinator New Jersey Audubon New Jersey Audubon Robert Fulper John Nance Prescription Tillage Fulper Farms Steve Groff Heidi Reed Cover Crop Coach Agronomy Educator Holtwood, PA Penn State Extension Lamonte Garber Dave Wilson Watershed Restoration Agronomy Educator Coordinator Penn State Extension Stroud Water Research Center Michael Yacovelli Jim Hershey Farm Foreman PA No-Till Alliance President NRCS Plant Materials Center Hershey Farms LLC USDA-NRCS Elizabethtown, PA EDITORS Abby Reiter Lauren Wasilauski Agricultural Conservation Open Space Coordinator Specialist New Jersey Montgomery Montgomery County Township Conservation District (Pennsylvania) Photo credits: Edwin Remsberg and USDA-SARE Contents table of Contents 5 No-till 10 No-till Basics 12 Successful Transition to No-till 24 Components & Retrofits 56 Troubleshooting 88 No-till 88 Cover Crops 98 Seed & Species Selection 100 Cover Crop Application 116 Cover Crop Termination 142 Advanced soil health practices 168 Planting Green 170 Photo credit: Edwin Remsberg and USDA-SARE. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS table OF CONTENTS NO-TILL................................................................. 10 No-till Basics.......................................................................... 12 Successful Transition to No-till....................................... 24 Components & Retrofits................................................... 56 Troubleshooting.................................................................... 88 COVER CROPS.................................................... 98 Seed & Species Selection................................................... 100 Cover Crop Application..................................................... 116 Cover Crop Termination.................................................... 142 ADVANCED SOIL HEALTH PRacTICES ...... 168 Planting Green....................................................................... 170 Photo credit: Edwin Remsberg and USDA-SARE. 5 Conservation isn’t easy. Access to well-informed agricultural service providers and clear unbiased education materials will simplify the transition to sustainable agricultural, reduce uncertainty, and increase the likelihood of success. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS Forward No-till and cover crops are among the most cost effective tools to reverse soil and carbon loss and improve soil health; the economic, agronomic and environmental benefits of these practices are well known within the farming community. Transitioning from conventional farming to no-till, and incorporating the use of cover crops, requires a higher level of management and demands a substantial investment in time to learn the information necessary to succeed. Farmers face hurdles including field soil preparation, equipment purchasing decisions, and management of other impacts on agronomic practices. For many farmers, lack of knowledge is a barrier to implementation. This manual is designed to help agricultural service providers and farmers as they strive to implement new practices. It is designed for individuals already convinced of the merits of no-till and cover crops, but unsure how to implement these practices. This is a how-to manual This manual contains... This manual does not contain... precise instructions and equipment configuration research summaries, recommendations. Although detailed cover crop species this information is usually best comparisons, nor any soil sourced from a knowledgeable health or soil science data crop consultant or peer, this showing the benefits of these manual furnishes the reader practices. with a strong foundation from The recommendations within which to begin. are not based on federal This information was sourced or state regulations. Those from a combination of research wishing to obtain financial results, crop consultant support towards practices recommendations, and most from those agencies will need importantly, farmers’ insights. to follow any agency specific practice requirements. 7 NO-TILL AND COVER CROP RESOURCES ag professionals FARMER MEETINGS Professionals selling and servicing farmers with equipment and supplies Pennsylvania No-till Alliance are often a knowledgeable resource. PANTA is one of the nation’s Crop Consultants Nutrient and Chemical leading no-till farmer groups. Their goal is to promote the Crop consultants can answer Dealers successful application of no-till questions on soil fertility, No-till farming requires a and cover crops through shared precision agriculture, seed different suite of nutrients, ideas, experiences, education and varieties and herbicide use. herbicides, insecticides, and new technology. They typically The $4-8/acre fee for a crop fungicides; suppliers can help hold two or more field days consultant is usually worth the guide your selection. annually that targeting farmers. investment. Equipment Dealers https://panotill.org/ Seed Dealers Many equipment dealers will Seed dealers will be have staff that are knowledgeable National No-till knowledgeable about what about equipment setup, Conference varieties are best for your soil maintenance and use. The National No-till conference, conditions and goals. Be sure to is a one-of-a-kind learning let them know you are switching experience assembling the most to no-till. renowned no-tillers, agronomists and researchers together in one location to share cutting-edge ideas and strategies to improve the profitability and efficiency of your no-till system. https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/ nntc 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS FARMER GroUPS ONLINE RESOUrces BOOKS & MagaZINES Facebook Groups SARE No-till Learning Center No-till Farmer Facebook groups contain a Visit SARE’s Topic Rooms for This monthly magazine contains wealth of information and in-depth resources on important in-depth interviews and insights inspiration; they are a good topics in sustainable agriculture from farmers around the country. venue for troubleshooting. https://www.sare.org/learning- https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/ Join Facebook Groups: center/no-till Everything Cover Crops Managing Cover Crops Exapta Solution Inc. Profitably (SARE) Online Forums Expata authors an excellent Available as a hard copy book Many on-line forums are an library of in-depth articles and and as a free download at: excellent sources for information guides on drill and planter use. https://www.sare.org/Learning- including: Center/Books/Managing-Cover- https://www.exapta.com/working- Crops-Profitably-3rd-Edition https://talk.newagtalk.com/ knowledge/ Penn State Extension https://extension.psu.edu/ Cover Crop Stategies https://www.covercropstrategies. com/ Northeast Cover Crop Council www.northeastcovercrops.com/ Rodale Insitute http://rodaleinstitute.org 9 No-till Photo credit: Edwin Remsberg and USDA-SARE. PART ONE NO-TILL It is not enough to simply stop tilling... No-tilling is a process. 10 tabLe of ConTenTs 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS OF TABLE o-till N No-till Photo credit: Edwin Remsberg and USDA-SARE. No-till Basics 12 No-till No-till BASICS n o- T i NO-TILL & ZERO TILL LL No-till practices leave crop residues on the soil surface and protect soil bA structure; in doing so, they build soil organic matter and increase water si infiltration. C s For thousands of years, Loose and crumbling No-till farming doesn’t traditional agricultural topsoil is prone to erosion disturb the soil’s surface. production systems and compaction. The Residues from previous relied on significant soil oxygen introduced during crops remain on the modification to prepare tillage accelerates organic soil surface, and seeds the soil for seeding: tillage matter decomposition. are planted in narrow equipment like plows and Ultimately, the soil slits using specialized disks turned over the top becomes more and more equipment. 6-10 inches of the soil, dependent on physical blending it with residues and chemical inputs to and fertilizer, to create maintain productivity. a loose, soft, uniform, aerated soil profile. No-till farming is different: