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Minnesota farmer experiments with cover crops

krusemark-cover-crop

A south-central Minnesota farmer is experimenting with cover crops this fall.

Rochelle Krusemark and her family grow corn and soybeans, custom finish hogs and have a cow/calf beef herd near Trimont.

The Krusemarks chopped silage for the first time this year, and wanted to leave residue on those 30 acres to reduce erosion.

“We were thinking of alternatives that we could do, and cover crops seemed to rise to the top.”

She says the cover crop of choice was cereal rye because their cows could graze it either this fall or next spring.

“We have talked to people at the University of Minnesota and looked at the research on cover crops.  I don’t think it’s a cookie-cutter approach and is right for everybody, especially if you can’t have benefits to it.  But given that we can utilize the cover crop in our cow/calf beef herd made it very attractive.”

The cereal rye was drilled into the soil earlier this month, and Krusemark says the crop started to emerge within 10 days and has a nice green hue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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