While some Coahoma County farmers are still taking their first, tentative steps with planting cover crops, at least one farming operation across the river has seen success with the innovative approach to growing.
Michael Taylor, who farms approximately 4,200 acres in northeast Arkansas with his father, has been growing soybeans, corn and peanuts, and plans to get back into cotton this growing season. They’ve been using the cover crop method for the past 20 years and he said it’s been a success for their operation.
“The success outweighs the problems,” Taylor said.
Cover crops are sown between growing seasons and usually not harvested for profit. Some reliable choices for the Southeast include a mix of cereal rye, oats, wheat, radish, winter pea and vetch.
Among the benefits the Taylors have seen are better water infiltration into the soil, less of a need for costly irrigation, much less soil erosion and no longer being plagued by “sand blasting.”
“That’s originally how we got into it,” Taylor said. “We have light, sandy soils and we were planting cotton in April and blowing sand was killing it.”
He believes the cover crop planting method is something to consider, but added that it may not be for everyone.
“There are some really heavy soil types that would be challenging. And it’s an investment. So, for somebody renting their land, with commodity prices where they are right now, it’s hard to make that investment,” Taylor said.
Farmers have used cover crops for millennia to control erosion and add nutrients back into the soil. According to the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, George Washington, the first U.S. president and a prominent farmer, heavily promoted the use of cover crops to replenish the soil.
The practice continues today for the same reasons, but the recent spread of herbicide-resistant weeds has brought increased interest in these crops as a management tool.
The topic was the main focus of discussion during a Cover Crop Field Day held Friday, March 8 at the Delta Precision office on Highway 322 in Clarksdale. There were presentations by representatives from the Mississippi State University Extension Office, as well as those with Delta FARM (Farmers Advocating Resource Management) and Delta Precision.
Robert Ellis, a research assistant at the University of Kentucky who specializes in agricultural economics, said the benefits received from planting cover crops are often not seen until several years down the road.
“It takes a long time to figure out some of this stuff,” Ellis told those gathered Friday. “The longer we can do this, the better our farm benefits in the long run.”
Among the benefits provided by planting cover crops are:
An increase in the value of the land;
Improved soil structure;
Cost savings with fewer chemicals needed to suppress weeds;
Management of pests such as voles and slugs;
Better erosion control;
A reduction in nutrient runoff and the loss of top soil;
And earlier planting availability as the cover crop allows the farmer to get into the field sooner than an open, bare field that collects and holds rainwater.
During Friday’s program, representatives with the extension service and Delta FARM went over the results from field trials conducted in 2018 throughout the Delta. The trials took place on six farms with three fields planting soybeans and three fields planting corn.
The cover crops were planted around mid-October and terminated in February and March when corn and soybeans would then be planted. Test results were taken from fields that had a cover crop vs. those without a cover crop. In five of six instances, the field with a cover crop had a lower yield than its counterpart.
One of those trial farms was at a field overseen by local farmer Andy Schmidt near
“There were a lot of variables. A lot things going against me,” Schmidt said of his first year.
A higher-than-expected cover crop, combined with a wet spring, resulted in a cover crop that was more dense than was needed, he said. And that resulted in cool and wet conditions that led to a lot of slugs. He ended up having to replant his soybeans.
Still, Schmidt said he can see the potential benefits.
“With less irrigation (costs), you can afford to have a lesser yield,” he said, also pointing out the runoff from his field was clean and clear.
Ellis preached patience.
“It takes time to build this up. It takes time to build that soil structure,” he said.
However, the benefits are there as he pointed to a 10-year study done by UK of farming operations in the western part of Kentucky. Some of those farmers were able to see a 20-percent gain in their crop yield over a 10-year span. Initially, those same farmers suffered a 15-percent loss in the first year.
“There are some possibilities there. There is some encouragement,” Ellis said. “These long-run benefits are there. We just got to get to them.”
Each farmer should be ready to accept that there is going to be a learning curve, he said. During his presentation, Ellis went over a cover crop cost tool that breaks down the costs that would be associated with the method.
Among the costs are seed, machinery, chemicals, fuel, labor and repairs and maintenance. And those initial costs could be higher than what the farmer normally sees, Ellis said.
“You really need to think about it before you jump in,” he said. “You need to have a purpose going in. Start small, know the direct costs and expect to have a learning curve.”
Taylor Fleming, the sales manager for Delta Precision’s Clarksdale operation, said the main thing with a cover crop is making sure that your stand is good.
He offered up several tools his company offers that “can save or make you money for years to come.”
Among the items were planters specializing in hydraulic downforce that leads to uniform seed depth, as well as SmartFirmer technology that reads soil residue, moisture and temperature.
“It’s a tool that lets you see what’s going on in your field,” said Fleming, who gave an example of one farmer, who increased his bushels per acre from 216 to 250 with the use of the technology.
