Spring-Seeded Cover Crops Ahead of Soybeans

Published Jan 16, 2018

In a Nutshell

Cover crops are typically either aerially seeded into standing crops around the time of physiological maturity in late summer or drilled immediately following crop harvest in the fall. In this study, two farmer-cooperators evaluated spring cover crops seeded in March approximately 50 days before planting soybeans later in the spring.

Key Findings

Cover crops seeded in late March and terminated in late May grew up to between 6 to 10 inches in height. Cover crops did not affect soybean yields compared to where no cover crop was seeded.