Library

Using Cover Crops to Convert to No-till

Jim Hoorman, Alan Sundermeier, Rafiq Islam and, Randall Reeder (November, 2009)

Summary

In the Midwest, about three-fourths of all soybeans and wheat are planted without prior tillage. But before corn is planted at least three-fourths of the fields are tilled in the fall and possibly tilled again in the spring. Farmers are tilling ahead of corn planting because they perceive a yield increase with tillage that is more than enough to cover the added direct costs for machinery, fuel, and labor. Typically, soybeans are no-tilled into corn stalks followed by soybean residue being tilled for corn planting the next year. No-tilling one year (for soybeans), then tilling the next (for corn), is not a true no-till system.