b'COVER CROP CORNERCOVER CROPPING: WINTER IS A GREAT TIME TO PLANEffective cover cropping takes forward thinking. The winter months present a great opportunity to formulate a strategy for the spring.SUCCESSFUL COVER CROPPING regardlessOthers have been tried in different areas, and they of weatherstarts with proper planning. Byjust need local adaptation to make them work.having the winter season to plan, proper steps canJoining like-minded producers is another way be taken, like setting goals and researching spe- to share information. WhatsApp, X (formerly cies that could be used in your blends. If it is yourTwitter) and Facebook are all good places to meet first run at cover cropping, being able to talk toup with farmers. Ask questions, share experiences, producers who have experience, attend meetings,help support others on their journey. These groups read books, and consult the internet for informa- tend to have producers scattered over a large area, Kevin Elmy tion will help your decision-making process.with different levels of experience. As always, have Elmy is founder of CoverIf you have grown a cover crop before, it isa context in mind. A plant may have a reputation Crops Canada. His book Cover Cropping in Westerntime to assess the effectiveness of the mix used.for a certain characteristic, but it will have other Canada is availableWhat species seemed to thrive? Which ones wereecological properties that are overlooked.through Friesen Press,difficult to notice? What state is the soil in? WhatWinter can also be the time to do some equip-Amazon, and digitallygoals still need to be accomplished? What newment modifications to help make seeding cover through Apple Books,goals are now apparent? Was it a normal year?crops more efficient. It may be setting up your Kindle, and Google Play. For more info on CoverWhat is forecasted for next year weather-wise,seeder to seed alternating rows of seeds in different Crops Canada visiteconomics-wise, and for your business model?tanks, getting a system to seed cover crops, setting covercrops.ca Regenerative agriculture thought leader Steveup liquid systems to get liquid products placed Groff uses the 5% ruletake 5% of your acre- in the seed rows, or developing a way to blend age and experiment. These acres will be part ofseed for cover crop blends on your farm. The idea your education. Look at how to make your man- would be making a system easy in-season; it elimi-agement system better. This learning opportunitynates any excuse not to get the cover crop seeded. will strengthen your system. Do some research on any government or local When going through information it will beproducer group programs that may be available easy to get confused and disgruntled with all theto help with costs associated with cover crop-conflicting info from around the world. How doping. Watch the restrictions and rules of funding. you screen this information?Ensure that their goals match yours. If things are The first step is to assess your own goals.compatible, funding can help stretch the budget, What seems to be working? Where are the areasallowing you to do more.that need more improvement? Who are the peopleOnce the plans and goals are developed, get that are respected in that area? the seed lined up. Getting the seed ordered early Getting only producers opinions can some- will ensure you get the species you want, and times be misleading. Some are excellent at havingallows seed to be blended and to be in place before trials through multiple years and coming up withyou get busy. Hard-sided seed boxes are a good replicable results. Others may have tried some- investment. They keep out the mice, are water-thing once and written it off, even though it hasproof and easy to store.merit. So, you need to ask context, conditions,In-season can work for acres that get added, reasons for someone not trying a practice again.but having the majority of the projects planned Dont write off an idea without asking questions.makes life less stressful. What didnt work for them might work for you. Winter can be a slow time of the year, but The internet is a great place to gather ideas,using the time to plan for the next season helps but you need to know where the information isreduce stress during the growing season. Plans coming from. We need information that is rel- may need to be modified in-season, but the heavy evant to our area. Some concepts have no locationlifting is already done. All you need to do is boundaries, but others are specific to local areas.execute the plan. 40GERMINATION.CAJANUARY 2024'