The NRCS just released new cover crop termination guidelines. Recently, a webinar was held to discuss the new changes and answer questions. To access the archived webinar, “Cover Crops and Crop Insurance: Questions and Answers on USDA’s Cover Crop Termination Guides”, follow this link to the YouTube video. Most of the changes involve the termination guidelines for areas of the country with a summer fallow practice. The termination zone for Wisconsin is Zone 4 and the guidelines have not changed from the June 2013 to the December 2013 guideline release. To see the new termination guidelines released in December 2013 from the USDA-NRCS, go here. For the previous termination guidelines released in June 2013, go here.

In addition, the USDA’s Risk Management Agency just published a new cover crops fact sheet outlining their policy from a crop insurance standpoint. To access their fact sheet, go here. According to the RMA, a cover crop can be harvested for forage or grazed without violating your crop insurance policy. However, it is important to remember that when removing a cover crop as a forage crop the herbicide label restrictions must be followed when feeding to livestock. Also, removing biomass for forage may limit the benefits that you may expect for a cover crop. Researchers looking at crimson clover managed as a cover crop with no removal versus a spring forage harvest found that corn grain and yields were higher in the fields with the cover crop compared to the forage crop ¹. However, in another study with cereal rye (Secale cereale) in a corn grain system, removal of the aboveground rye biomass did not affect the subsequent corn crop yield ². Aside from yield, removing biomass for forage can impact soil health. In a 5 year study of three cover crops in a corn grain system, removal of the cover crop biomass reduced soil organic carbon and nitrogen ³.

References:

1. Holderbaum, J.F.; Decker, A.M.; Meisinger, J.J.; Mulford, F.R.; Vough, L.R. Harvest management of a crimson clover cover crop for no-tillage corn production. 1990 Agronomy Journal 82(5): 918-923.
2. Tollenaar, M.; Mihajlovic, M.; Vym, T.J. Corn growth following cover crops: influence of cereal cultivar, cereal removal, and nitrogen rate. 1993 Agronomy Journal 85(2): 251-255.
3. Kuo, S.; Jellum, E.J. Influence of winter cover crop and residue managment on soil nitrogen availability and corn. 2002 Agronomy Journal 94(3): 501-508.

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