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2023 a challenging year for planting cover crops

A University of Wisconsin plant sciences specialist says farmers should not let the late harvest stop their cover crop planting plans.

Daniel Smith says many of the corn and soybean crops look okay despite later planting, but that means later harvesting, and later cover crop planting. “The great thing about planting a small grain cover crop is in most cases, we have no problem with it coming up next spring and then we still have adequate biomass for any cover crop benefit. The sad part is we’re not going to have any benefit this fall or winter, but again, I think that we can make it work.”

Smith says even though the cover crop planting window is getting pushed back, it still pays to plant.

Smith says some cover crops surprisingly survived last winter, including some crimson clover and turnips because of adequate snow cover and milder-than-usual winter temperatures.