Selecting the Perfect Cover Crop- How Do I Decide?
Presentations
Selecting the Perfect Cover Crop- How Do I Decide?
Cover crops are receiving greater attention in the past few years among cash grain farmers. Cover crops can improve soil tilth and biological activity, reduce erosion, trap nutrients, fix atmospheric nitrogen, and increase soil organic matter. Different cover crops are better for some purposes than others, and no one cover crop will be able to meet all needs. In order to choose cover crops for a particular field, producers need to evaluate the most important purposes for cover crops in that field, as well as timeliness and cost considerations. This presentation will outline a process for selecting cover crops to fit within specific cropping systems and for different desired purposes of the cover crops.
Barry Fisher
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Barry Fisher is in his forth year of what began as a two year assignment as Conservation Tillage Coordinator for the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Indiana. He directs activities of the Indiana Conservation Tillage Initiative where his duties are to promote conservation tillage, identify barriers to the adoption of No-Till and High Residue Farming, and find solutions to those barriers. Barry is located at the Greencastle USDA Service Center. For the previous 13 years he has served as District Conservationist for Putnam County. His prior assignment was Conservation Agronomist for West-Central Indiana and has worked for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service since 1981. He has a degree in agronomy from Western Kentucky University and is a native of French Lick, Indiana.Barry Fisher serves on the Technology Staff for the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Indiana. He provides agronomic training and assistance to NRCS Field Offices and directs activities of the Indiana Conservation Tillage Initiative (ICTI) advancing conservation tillage technology and identifying successful steps to the adoption of No-Till and High Residue Farming.