This month, we’re focusing on the topic of Cover Crops. “The total value of a cover crop,” writes Don Schriefer in the book Eco-Farm by Charles Walters, “goes far beyond the prevention of erosion.” Learn more about the intricacies and benefits of cover cropping with these resources – from free podcasts to educational book titles and more!
Best Books on Cover Crops
- Book of the Month: Crop Rotation & Cover Cropping by Seth Kroeck – Addressed are many of the possible variables in forming the rotation as well as where to find room for compromise between the “perfect horticulture” model and day-to-day logistics.
- Growing Life: Regenerating Farming and Ranching by André Leu – This book explores the fundamentals of regenerative agriculture, including specific, proven steps designed to grow healthy food, while protecting our natural resources like clean water, soil and air.
- Dirt to Soil by Gabe Brown – When North Dakota farmer and rancher Gabe Brown switched to no-till planting, started planting diverse cover crops mixes, and changed his grazing practices, he transformed a degraded farm ecosystem into one full of life―starting with the soil and working his way up, one plant and one animal at a time.
- Roller/Crimper No-Till: Advancing No-Till Agriculture by Jeff Moyer – Combining the best aspects of no-till with recent innovations in equipment design and in-field research, the system laid out in this book “provides great potential for agricultural change,” Moyer writes, “through the use of cover crops and reduction of synthetic herbicides, while giving organic farmers what they need in terms of weed management and soil building practices.”
- Advancing Biological Farming by Gary Zimmer – This book offers invaluable scientific support for committed organic farmers as well as conventional farmers who’d like to reduce chemical inputs and use natural processes to their advantage.
Best Podcasts on Cover Crops
The Acres U.S.A. Tractor Time podcast features in-depth interviews with leading experts in soil health, regenerative farming, food production, and more! Here are a few episodes that will bring some illumination to the topic of cover crops:
- Episode 65: Rick Clark – Rick Clark is a fifth-generation farmer based in Indiana who’s proving that an obsessive focus on soil health — and not just on yield — can work at a commercial scale. Clark is also perfecting the craft of cover crops as well as the use of livestock within cropping systems. Clark says his strategy is to work with Mother Earth to create self-sustaining, closed loop ecological systems that are teeming with biodiversity.
- Episode 47: Jeff Moyer – For over 30 years, Jeff has worked at the Rodale Institute in Southeastern Pennsylvania, where he’s designed equipment and techniques for organic no-till farming systems.
Learn in Person
“A cover crop, as any other good practice, must be a part of a total system and not just an unrelated single-shot input,” writes Schriefer in Eco-Farm. The 2022 Eco-Ag Conference & Trade Show this Dec. 5-8 in Covington, KY, will bring together hundreds of farmers, ranchers and industry professionals to learn from the experts.
From all-day in-depth workshops to knowledge-filled conference sessions, you can choose from a wide variety of instructors, including:
- John Kempf
- Dr. Don Huber
- Dr. Kris Nichols
- Mark Shepard
- David R. Montgomery and Anne Biklé
- …. and more!
Take the next step in your soil health education and join us for the 2022 Eco-Ag Conference this year! See speakers, the full agenda and more at EcoAg.AcresUSA.com.
Best Free Articles on Cover Cropping
Our free website, www.EcoFarmingDaily.com, is a great resource for in-depth articles on all kinds of topics related to organic, eco-agriculture. Some of our popular articles specifically about cover cropping include:
- Cover Crops Don’t Deplete Moisture – SSARE study
- Cover Crop Grazing on a Vegetable Farm by Lauren Krizansky
- Cover Crops Make Farming Fun Again by Mary Ann Lieser
Find more great articles in the Grow Crops section of EcoFarmingDaily.com.
Learn Online
If you aren’t able to travel for soil health education this year – we’ve got you covered! Our Eco-Ag U Online courses are virtual classrooms where you can download important lessons from experts and learn at your own pace.
The 2021 Eco-Ag Conference Replay is a great place to get a vast variety of knowledge, including cover cropping, from a large number of experts at once. Check it out here or browse our whole virtual catalogue at Learn.AcresUSA.com.
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