Many farmers in Door and Kewaunee counties are trying something new when it comes to planting crops like corn this spring. Peninsula Pride Farms members like Algoma’s Ebert Enterprises, Casco’s Kinnard Farms, and Sturgeon Bay’s Jerseyland Dairy are planting their corn and soybeans into established cover crops. Plants like winter rye and turnips helped the fields hold the soil in place to prevent erosion. As it dies off, the cover crops can help retain moisture for growing plants and improve the soil’s overall health.
Aaron Augustian’s farm in Kewaunee now uses cover crops on 95 percent of the fields they operate and the benefits go beyond the earthworm activity he has noticed in recent years. He says they are saving time and money as well.
An AgWeb survey shows that 53 percent of farmers are planting into green cover crops with 21 percent doing so on more than 80 percent of their land. Augustian Farms are showing off their no-till planting into cover crops at Peninsula Pride Farms’ next Conservation Conversation on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
Screen shot from this video from Kinnard Farms
