This training series provides an introduction to the knowledge, skills, and abilities to plan, write, and certify Cover Crop (CPS 340). Additional training may be needed.
TTCP
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- 1. Knowledge of State's Crops and Cropping Systems
What criteria should you use when selecting a soybean variety? How do the economics pencil out for different soybean maturities in your area? What disease traits should you be on the lookout for? Learn more through a discussion of these questions and trial results with Dr. Seth Naeve, Extension soybean agronomist and Dr. Dean Malvick, Extension plant pathologist.
What criteria should you used when selecting a corn hybrid? How do hybrid maturities affect your bottom line? What about hybrid selection and disease resistance? Watch the recording for answers to these questions and hybrid trial results with Dr. Jeff Coulter, Extension corn agronomist, Tom Hoverstad, Researcher from Southern Research and Outreach Center and Dr. Dean Malvick, Extension plant pathologist.
Soybean crop management in Wisconsin (soybeans, part 1/3)
(Time: 12:35) This video discusses components contributing to yield in soybeans including varietal selection, regional climate and fertilization.
Vegetative Growth Stages of Soybeans (soybeans 2/3)
(Time: 16:39) This video focuses on the early season growth and development of soybeans
R Stages, Soybean Management in Wisconsin (soybeans 3/3)
(Time: 17:42) This video focuses on the reproductive stages of growth and development of soybeans.
Corn yield in Wisconsin and the US (Corn, part 1/3)
(Time:13:41) Dr. Joe Lauer's presentation about "Corn Growth, Development, and Physiology". This part (1 of 3) focuses on an overview of corn yield in Wisconsin and the US.
Corn growth and development staging systems (Corn, part 2/3)
(Time 41:01) Dr. Joe Lauer's presentation about "Corn Growth, Development, and Physiology". This part (2 of 3) focuses on systems used to label stages of corn plant development in Wisconsin and the US.
Yield components of corn (corn, part 3/3)
(Time 24:02) Dr. Joe Lauer's presentation about "Corn Growth, Development, and Physiology". This part (3 of 3) focuses on the components that contribute to yield in corn.
This website provides information on variety selection, growing, harvest and storage, planting and pest management for forages in Minnesota.
This website provides information on growing sugarbeets and pest management for sugarbeets Minnesota.
This website provides information on crop and variety selection, growing, harvest and storage, planting and pest management for small grains in Minnesota.
- 2. Knowledge of Soil Health and Management
Core Competency: Soil Health Basics
This course will provide an introduction to soil health, dynamic soil properties, and sustainability principles to guide participants with recommendations for land management.
(Time 1:00:22) Our soils support 95 percent of all food production, and by 2060, our soils will be asked to give us as much food as we have consumed in the last 500 years. They filter our water. They are one of our most cost-effective reservoirs for sequestering carbon. They are our foundation for biodiversity. And they are vibrantly alive, teeming with 10,000 pounds of biological life in every acre. Yet in the last 150 years, we’ve lost half of the basic building block that makes soil productive. The societal and environmental costs of soil loss and degradation in the United States alone are now estimated to be as high as $85 billion every single year. Like any relationship, our living soil needs our tenderness. It’s time we changed everything we thought we knew about soil.
Winter Soil Health Virtual Series, Webinar 2
The Minnesota Soil Health Coalition produced a series of webinars in January and February of 2021. These five webinars are: Webinar 1: Soil Health Virtual Series: Matt Tiffany + Brian Pfarr Webinar 2: Cover Crop Mixes with Tomm Cotter and TJ Kartes Webinar 3: Livestock Integration with Tom Cotter and Kent Solberg; Webinar 4: Small Grains with Andy Linder and Jochum Wiersma; Interseeding Covers with Ed McNamara, TJ Kartes, Scott Haase, Matt Alford and Jerry Ackerman
Tech Talk Replay: Equipment Modifications for Cover Crops
Tech Talk Replay from August 24 at 9:00 am. NRCS State Soil Health Specialist Kristin Brennan hosts a farmer panel including Brady Wulf of Starbuck, Ryan Hough of Barnesville, and David Miller of Red Lake to discuss equipment modifications they have made to facilitate the integration of a soil health system into their farming operations.
Tech Talk Replay: Evaluating Herbicide Plans in a Soil Health System
Tech Talk Replay from August 10, 2020. Liz Stahl, UMN Extension, reviews the latest research and information regarding the impacts of weed management decisions on the potential for successful establishment of cover crops, cover crop end uses, and the tradeoffs we can expect in our weed management program. Following the presentation is a facilitated discussion with crop advisors.
Mitigating Climate Change Through the Soil Carbon Sponge
Discovery Farms Programs in Wisconsin and Minnesota are excited to bring to you a virtual conference series this winter. Join us as we cover topics like water quality, soil health, climate change, and more!
Join us for this webinar during which soil health techniques such as cover crops, crop rotations, pest management, nutrient management, cash crop establishment, and water management will be discussed. Participants will be able to ask questions for a round table on several soil health topics. These include:
Cover Crop selection, seeding, termination and benefits.
Benefits to soil health by using crop rotations and crop rotations to avoid.
Pest Management techniques including scouting and monitoring of pests, beneficial insects, pesticide carry-over and breaking the cycle of non-essential pesticide use.
The 4-Rs in soil health system concerning nutrient management techniques.
Cash crop establishment techniques in cover crop systems. Discuss benefits of planting green or planting after chemical termination.
Benefits of soil health systems on water management. Specifically reductions in irrigation amounts and management techniques.
Nobel Conference 54 - Living Soil: A Universe Underfoot (2018)
Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, MN) hosted the 54th Nobel Conference on the Living Soil: A Universe Underfoot in 2018. This conference invited participants to consider the vast diversity and complexity of soil, and to ponder the challenges we face in protecting this most fundamental resource. Playlist includes all of the speaker presentations and panel discussions held during the two day conference.
- 3. Ability to Use Wind and Water Erosion Prediction Tools
This training module focuses on the types of erosion and the resource concerns associated with erosion. It orients participants to the types and processes of soil erosion to prepare them to utilize the current soil erosion models - RUSLE2 and WEPS.
Water Erosion Prediction with RUSLE2
This course provides an overview of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), and instructions on how to use the RUSLE2 model to estimate sheet and rill erosion.
Wind Erosion Prediction with WEPS
This course provides an overview of the Wind Erosion Prediction System (WEPS), and instructions on how to use the WEPS model to estimate wind erosion.
Using RUSLE2 to Evaluate Soil Health Planning Principles
Nearly all NRCS field offices and many conservation partners use RUSLE2 for conservation planning. This webinar will provide participants a better understanding of the NRCS soil health planning process and how adjustments made within RUSLE2 directly relate to implementing a Soil Health Management System. The link between NRCS’ four soil health planning principles (minimize disturbance, maximize diversity, keep a living root growing, provide soil cover) and the Soil Tillage Intensity Rating, Soil Conditioning Index, tillage operations, vegetation, growth curves, residue type, climate impacts, and other data used in RUSLE2 will be explored. RUSLE2 worksheets and graphs to compare systems and soil health outcomes will also be presented. Understanding RUSLE2 management inputs and how they relate to soil health and reduce erosion will better prepare conservation planners to assist farmers seeking NRCS help with erosion control and applying a Soil Health Management System.
- 4. Knowledge of Tillage Systems Used in the State
This webinar goes into the details of the five soil disturbing processes modeled in RUSLE2 (inversion, mixing, mixing with some inversion, lifting/fracturing, and compression). A video of a tillage implement in action for each of the processes is shown and discussed. The effects of the tillage types are demonstrated and discussed in a comparison between a conventional, reduced-till, and no-till corn/soybean rotation. Finally, the webinar ends with a very brief discussion of the economic factors that one should consider in making the move from a conventional to reduced-till or no-till system. This webinar was offered on-demand only to accommodate the use of videos. The videos are provided separately below for anyone having issues with the recording of this webinar.
This course will review tillage calculation tools, primary tillage implements, and secondary tillage implements used in a corn/soybean setting.
Nutrient and Pest Management Equipment
This short course looks at application equipment you may see in corn and soybean producing areas.
This short course looks at harvesting equipment you may see in corn and soybean producing areas.
Seeding and Planting Equipment
This course will review seeding and planting equipment used in a corn/soybean setting.
- 5. Knowledge of Adaptive Species of Cover Crops for Planned Purposes in the State
Session 3 covers seed mix design, the seed calculator, calculating PLS and bulk seed as well as MN seed tag law.
- 6. Knowledge of Approved Planting Dates, Times, and Methods of Termination for Cover Crops
Session 4 covers the topics of cover crop seeding and termination methods as well as economics of cover crops.
A strategy for killing cover crops with tillage
Farmers looking to incorporate cover crops into rotation are often left with the issue of terminating the crop. Is spraying enough? If you need to work the ground, what’s the best option? To tackle that question, Ontario field editor Bern Tobin asks Pat Lynch, agronomist and Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show tillage demo host, about tillage options for cover crop killing.
Minnesota Guidance: Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)
Inventory and Evaluation (I&E) Planning Phase
Job Class I-III
- 1. Understand the Practice Standard, Agronomy Technical Note #33, Implementation Requirements (IR), and Statement of Work (SOW)
Tech Talk replay from April 13, 2020. Laurie Svien reviews PS340 Cover Crop, Agronomy Tech Note 33, online cover crop resources, and completing the Implementation Requirements worksheet.
Session 2 covers the practice standard, Implementation Requirements worksheet, Agronomy Technical Note 33 and Cover Crop Identification.
- 2. Knowledge of resource concerns that can be addressed by using cover crops
Session 1 discusses cover crop strategies, resource concerns that can be treated with cover crops, benefits of cover crops and how cover crops fit into MN cropping systems.
Tech Talk: Soil Health Resource Concerns
Stephanie McLain (NRCS State Soil Health Specialist) provides an overview of the soil health resource concerns including how to evaluate them. This session also includes a brief introduction to the In Field Soil Health Assessments.
Tech Talk: Cropland In Field Soil Health Assessment and Its Role to Evaluate Soil Function
During this session with Stephanie McLain, attendees gain awareness and knowledge of the Cropland In Field Soil Health Assessment developed by the NRCS National Soil Health Division found in Soil Health Tech Note 450-06. The Cropland In-Field Soil Health Assessment is designed to be used as a diagnostic tool to support conservation planners determine and document if soil health resource concerns exist. We review and discuss the 11 indicators that are used to assess soil function, which in turn affects soil health.
- 3. Ability to communicate cover crop benefits and how each cover crop can affect each practice purpose
Long-term Effect of Cover Crops on Soil Health Crop Yield
Tune into this Digital Cafe to hear from Dr. Inderjot Chahal with the School of Environmental Studies at the University of Guelph. Dr. Chalal will discuss the long-term cover crop experiments established at the University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus. The presentation will focus specifically on the benefits and implications of cover crops on increasing soil health indicators and crop yield in the long-term.
A farm’s profitability depends on many factors – but reducing yield variability is a key component. Mitchell County farmer Wayne Fredericks and plant physiologist Jerry Hatfield will review the extensive on-farm research data they’ve collected on reducing yield variability. Their data shows that improving soil health through cover crops and other conservation practices can have a positive effect on total field yield.
Economics of Soil Health: Contributions of Reduced Tillage and Cover Cropping
Weighing the costs and benefits of soil health management practices is a primary concern for producers considering the adoption of such practices. However, the economic information needed for making data-driven, science-based decisions is difficult to find. Recognizing that cropping and operating systems, climate, and soils vary, the Soil Health Institute has done extensive research to develop partial budgets to fill the knowledge gap on the economics of soil health systems. Using data from more than 100 corn and soybean production partial budgets from across the United States, this webinar will provide an in-depth analysis of how cover cropping affects expenditures and management practices in reduced tillage systems. It will also discuss details on cover crop seed mixes, planting, and termination strategies.
Cover Crop Economics Decision Support Tool
As cover crops gain attention and focus, questions are moving from agronomics to economics. This presentation centers on a spreadsheet-based partial budgeting tool that is available to help address some of the economic and financial questions that arise. This tool is designed to help producers, landowners, planners and others make informed decisions when considering making cover crops a part of their production systems.
- 4. Awareness of crop rotations and the different methods how cover crops can fit into a cropping system timeline
Effective Cover Cropping - Maximizing Benefits, Minimizing Risk
Bringing forward information and data from several years and data from assorted research locations, Dr. Gruver discusses both gains and hurdles in cover crops and soil health. Reducing Cost of Failure and Quickly Learning From Failure. “Fail Fast, Succeed Faster” Dr. Joel Gruver, Professor of Soil Science at Western Illinois University brings new soil health discussion forward regarding reducing cost of failure and quickly learning from failure in cover crops; Precision Cover Cropping; Water Quality; presentation of data from several years and locations of research.
- 5. Awareness of tillage systems and be able to discuss ways to adapt tillage systems to fit cover crops into the management
Tips for Using Cover Crops in a Tillage System (Podcast)
It's a bit more challenging to fit cover crops into a tillage system, but there are opportunities if you create them, says Steve Groff. The Cover Crop Coach and Holtwood, Pa., grower will share different ways row crop farmers and even vegetable farmers in the U.S. and overseas are getting cover crops seeded into tilled fields to control erosion and replenish soils.
Job Class IV-V
- 1. Knowledge of how cover crops fit into organic cropping systems and how this impacts crop rotation, tillage, and nutrient management
Cover Crop Strategies (Podcasts)
Cover Crop Strategies offers a series of Podcasts related to Cover Crops and Soil Health. Topics include Cover Crop Management Tips, Choosing Cover Crop Goals First, Grazing Systems Need Soil Health Improvement Too, Combining Cover Crops and Not-Till Organic among other topics. Check it out!
- 2. Knowledge of cover crops and their use in urban and small farm operations
Tech Talk: Intro to Urban Soil Health for Conservation Planning and Management
In this webinar, Josh Beniston, NRCS Regional Soil Health Specialist covering urban areas, presents an overview of soil health in the context of urban soils. Josh walks through the aspects of urban soils may be different than rural agricultural soils and discusses the additional questions and observations that should be addressed for conservation planning in urban soils.
NRCS National Plant Materials Center Manager David Kidwell-Slak and his team plant Cereal Rye as a cover crop in the garden beds of the urban farm outside of the Department of Agriculture Whitten Building in Washington, D.C., December 15, 2021. The crops are used over the winter months to take up some of the excess nutrients left over from last year’s vegetable plants. https://www.farmers.gov, USDA’s one-stop shop for resources for America’s farmers, ranchers, and foresters. Grow with us!
- 3. Knowledge of livestock integration and grazing/haying/silage considerations
2022 Wisconsin Cover Crops Conference - Creating Opportunities for In-Season Manure
In Wisconsin, we’re fortunate to have manure as a natural fertilizer. A panel of farmers discuss their experiences (the how) on maximizing the benefits of manure through in-season applications. This session takes a deeper look into widening manure application windows by using various tools (crop rotation, cover crops, application equipment, etc.).
Speakers: Aaron Augustian, Jacob Brey, Jordan Crave
Cattle Grazing on Cover Crops in Faribault County, MN
Producer Andy Linder discusses the methods and benefits of grazing steers on Cover Crops. (10 minutes, 45 seconds)
On-Farm Research Explores Cover Crops, Manure, Nitrogen & Returns
Woody Van Arkel and Cameron Ogilvie shared results of and experience with on-farm research at Woody’s farm. Research explored different cover crops in combination with manure applications and side-dressed nitrogen. Cover crops included cereal rye, red clover and multi-species blends. Learn how on-farm research like this can help you consider net returns and not solely bushels per acre.
Design Phase
Job Class I-V
- 1. Knowledge of planting dates, rates and methods and be able to discuss limiting variables
Best Management Practices for Drill- Interseeding Cover Crops into Corn
Participants will learn how management practices and environmental conditions impact the performance of cover crops that are drill-interseeded into corn early in the growing season. Participate in this training to learn how cover crop species selection, interseeding timing, corn management, herbicide selection and application timing impact performance of interseeded cover crops. Emphasis will be placed on how to adjust management practices based on conservation goals for interseeding cover crops.
Side Dressing Cover Crops into Corn with Rob Olson and Daughters
Producer Rob Olson and daughters Nicole and Kari demonstrate inter-seeding cover crops into corn on their farm in Clay County, MN. (13 minutes, 34 seconds)
High Clearance Cover Crop seeder with Andy Linder
Producer Andy Linder of Faribault MN demonstrates how he seeds cover crops into soybeans and corn using his revamped high clearance Hagie seeder. He discusses the methods, benefits, and potential pitfalls of using this method of seeding cover crops. (9 minutes, 35 seconds)
- 2. Ability to develop a cover crop implementation plan to meet the objectives of the producer and address resource concerns with an understanding of the risks associated with different strategies
Tech Talk Replay: Fertilization in a Soil Health System
Tech Talk Replay from August 24 at 1:00. Dr. Daniel Kaiser (UMN Extension) and Dorian Gatchel discuss fertilizer considerations in soil health systems.
- 3. Knowledge of Agronomy Tech Note 33 to support development of a cover crop design
- 4. Ability to discuss termination timing and methods and the advantages or disadvantages of these methods with the producer
- 5. Ability to develop documents (IR, seeding calculator) for a producer and clearly explain the objectives set in these planning documents
- 6. Explain the requirements for being able to use bin run seed for use in conservation programs
Construction, Installation, and Certification Phases
Job Class I-V
- 1. Ability to read seed tags and calculate Pure Live Seed (PLS) to confirm cover crop seeding rate meets specifications
- 2. Ability to complete IR and seeding calculator to certify the practice
- 3. If bin run seed is used, ability to determine seeding rates and PLS based on the required documentation
- 4. Ability to complete stand evaluation if needed