Tom Oder is a writer, editor, and communication expert who specializes in sustainability and the environment with a sweet spot for urban agriculture. Just because winter is on the way in, your family ...

Cover crops play an important role in protecting the soil and water when cash crops like corn or soybean are not actively growing. The National Conservation Service promoted the use of cover crops ...

When the Southern Cover Crops Council held its annual conference recently in Baton Rouge, I was fortunate to sit in on panel discussions with farmers and specialty crops (vegetables, fruits, nuts and ...

Tom Oder is a writer, editor, and communication expert who specializes in sustainability and the environment with a sweet spot for urban agriculture. There are varieties of cover crops for every ...

‘Prosperity,’ customer pressure help stir cover crop interest The ‘yo-yo’ principle of managing cover crops Is USDA overpromoting cover crops? This is the first part of a four-part series examining ...

Planting cover crops after corn and soybeans are harvested combats erosion, builds soil, sequesters carbon and protects water surface runoff. Submitted photo Agriculture and conservation go hand in ...

Only a fraction of conventional row crop farmers grow cover crops after harvest, but a new global analysis from the University of Illinois shows the practice can boost soil microbial abundance by 27%.

This is a story about cover crops, but first a little history lesson for those of you who are not old enough to remember what they are (which is most of us at this point). The Great Dust Bowl of the ...

When Indiana farmer Jason Wykoff’s use of cover crops created challenges for his cash crop, he didn’t let setbacks deter his goal of improving soil health. He grows cover crops on one-third of his ...

This is the third part of a four-part series examining the promise of cover crops, the potential for them to meet the nation’s environmental goals that rest on their success, and the possible pitfalls ...