News

Cover crops in cattle operations

There’s a growing interest in cover crops for cattle operations. Charles Ellis, a University of Missouri Extension ag engineering specialist tells Brownfield Ag News, “Producers are learning to use cover crops with beef cattle, both as a grazing option in late fall and early spring and, also, as a forage. Harvesting forage prior to their cash crops.”

Ellis, who is based in east-central Missouri’s Lincoln County, knows cattle producers who also grow crops in his area who are using the practice.

“They’ve put in a cereal of cereal rye, triticale, wheat, some of those mixes in the fall. And then they’ll have some designated acres that they’ll harvest that forage off before planting soybeans the next year.”

Ellis says one of the biggest challenges is weather. Experts from Missouri, Nebraska and Kansas will be at the Midwest Cover Crops Council conference in Kansas City to talk about all things cover crops February 11^th and 12^th.