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Montgomery County IL farmers talk cover crops

Farmers in Montgomery County, Illinois are taking to cover crops.  

Mark Schweizer converted to a cereal rye cover crop system about eight years ago, and tells Brownfield he’s already seen benefits…

“It just seemed like that ground’s more mellow.”  He says, “It’s easier for that crop to take hold; for the roots to take hold, and once them beans grow, they’ve been really good. I haven’t seen a decrease in my yields. Actually, yields have been better.”

Kris Reynolds farms and is also the Midwest regional director with American Farmland Trust.  He says the county as a whole has taken to cover cropping…

“We see through the Fall Covers for Spring Savings program that it’s one of the top five counties in the state for the number of acres in that program.”  He says, “Also one of the programs that that we work with, ADM’s regenerations program, Montgomery County has really been active with that program as well.”

Schweizer says the conservation practices have a purpose…

“It really does stop the erosion and I think a guy can dive into that, a small acreage at a time and you kind of learn from it.”  He says, “And every year is different according to the weather. But it’s really been a lifesaver for some of my farms, I think.”

Reynolds and Schweizer welcomed around fifty people into their fields Wednesday as part of a Nutrient Stewardship Field Day hosted by the Illinois Farm Bureau.

AUDIO: Mark Schweizer