By Tim Kowols       

The wet start to fall could end up preventing many farmers in Door and Kewaunee counties from planting cover crops. With the encouragement of Peninsula Pride Farms, many operators have started annually planting cover crops as a way to help control soil erosion and make it more productive. Cover cropping is also one of the strategies used to help address the area's groundwater concerns. Weather pushed the harvest back in some area fields and prevented farmers from simultaneously planting a variety of different cover crops. AgSource Labortories' Nick Guilette helps farmers write nutrient management plans and says they are running out of options if they want to still plant this fall.

 

Guilette says he has been telling farmers success cover cropping four out of five years is not a bad goal to shoot for given the unpredictability of Mother Nature.