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Iowa Nutrient Research Center Supports New Studies to Improve Success Strategies for Cover Crops
“If farmers have a good year growing cover crops, they can get really excited and plant more acres. But if they have a bad year, they might never use cover crops again,” said Alison Robertson, professor of plant pathology and microbiology and a lead investigator of cover crop projects funded by the Iowa Nutrient Research Center.
Impacts of Cover Crops on Phosphorus and Nitrogen Loss with Surface Runoff
Interseeding Grass and Legume Cover Crops into Early Vegetative Stage Corn
Completing Three Corn-Soybean Rotation Cycles for Ongoing Research on Impacts of Cover Crops on Phosphorus and Nitrogen Loss with Surface Runoff
Can corn benefit from social distancing?
Alison Robertson, plant pathology and microbiology, discusses findings from INRC-supported research on potential benefits of spacing cereal rye cover crop plantings from corn crop seedings in “Corn and Soybean Digest.”
Perennial Turfgrass Cover Crops in Maize Production Systems
Virtual Field Day: Exploring the Impact of Cover Crops on Water Quality
Mark Licht, Iowa State University Assistant Professor and Extension Cropping Systems Specialist, and Matt Helmers, Iowa Nutrient Research Center Director, will discuss spring cover crop management and the impact of cover crops on water quality at a virtual field day, April 15, at 1:00 p.m. CDT.
Harvested winter rye energy cover crop: multiple benefits for North Central US
A publication in Bioenergy Research Letters by INRC Director Matt Helmers and others, reports findings of a model-based investigation on the potential benefits of growing winter rye as a cover crop as part of corn-soybean rotations in the North-Central Region of the U.S. They concluded that harvesting fertilized rye CCs before soybean planting in this area could reduce nitrogen loads to the Gulf of Mexico by 27% relative to no cover crops, while providing an estimated 18 million Mg yr−1 of biomass-equivalent to 0.21 EJ yr−1 of biogas energy content (3.5 times the 2022 US cellulosic biofuel production).