Soil Health Exchange Team

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Crops and systems

Corn, Hay/Pasture, Cropland, Pasture/Rangeland, No-Till

States represented

Wisconsin, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa

Answers

547

Reads

States

7.0k

Acres

Articles

Acres are represented from producer-submitted field context, not measured outcome claims.

Reach milestones

2 of 6 · next: Field Resonance (1,000 reads)

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Crops and systems: Corn, Hay/Pasture, Cropland, Pasture/Rangeland, No-Till

Answers

What is cover crop diversity, and how is it measured?

In an 11-site SE Nebraska on-farm study, increasing functional-group richness raised cover crop biomass by ~29%, while adding more species of the same type gave only ~2.3% (not significant) — and no mixture beat the most productive single species on biomass (Florence et al., PLOS ONE 2019). That 29% reflects a six-functional-group design (cool- and warm-season grasses, legumes, brassicas/broadleaves) — broader than the simplified three-group teaching frame used below. Function > count is well supported; whether it pays on WI grain-corn ground depends entirely on whether you can establish the mix at all.

Corn1.0k acresCropland

Cover CropsWIMay 20268 reads

Virtual Fencing

The technology reliably contains cattle for rotational grazing and stream/regrowth exclusion, but the recurring subscription plus terrain/coverage risk decide whether it is worth it for a modest KY herd.

Hay/PasturePasture/Rangeland

OtherKYApr 202638 reads

Interseeding into corn

Two gates decide whether this is a 2026 or a 2027 project: your corn's leaf-collar stage (V4-V6, not 'knee-high') and what residual herbicides are already in the ground. If long-residual products are down or you can't source a drill and seed in days, plan for 2027 rather than forcing a same-week stand.

Corn4.0k acres

Soil HealthILApr 20267 reads

Cereal rye is the right species for this late, pre-soybean slot

Cereal rye seeded by late October is inside the recommended central-Iowa window and overwinters reliably, so species choice is easy. The main planning question is seeding logistics: drilling behind the combine is the most reliable method and should be the default, with aerial/broadcast into standing corn reserved as a moisture-dependent contingency only for acres that cannot be drilled before the deadline.

Corn2.0k acresNo-TillCropland

Soil HealthIowaApr 20263 reads