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Iowa farmer is a fan of cover crops

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One of the main questions many farmers ask about cover crops is, “How do they impact yield?”.

Tim Bardole of Rippey, Iowa, who has been growing cover crops for the past six years, says he’s only seen one time where there was a negative impact.

“A year ago, we were kind of in a small area that was really dry (in the spring) and it did stunt the crop some, which showed up in the final yield,” Bardole says. “But we’ve also had a 15 bushel an acre yield boost where the corn was planted on the cover crop, compared to not.”

Bardole says there are many different types of cover crops grown in his area of central Iowa, but he likes turnips the best.

“They germ quick and easy and get good growth—and I think they do a real good job of scavenging nutrients,” he says.

Bardole does custom cover crop application and participates in cover crop research studies through the Iowa Soybean Association’s On-Farm Network.

AUDIO: Tim Bardole