|
| I think 1 thing that most farmers would agree on is they would like to have a higher OM in their soil. Continuous soybeans is a net negative on SOM, even if it's no-till. Growing a rye cover crop and letting it get mature enough to get a high C:N ratio will help stabilize the SOM loss.
We cover crop almost every acre every year. In front of soybeans we see a yield benefit when we grow a large amount of biomass to help protect the soil in the summer from soil evaporation. Every area is different but in my area soil evaporation is a big thing.
I have data that has shown on average about a 4-5 bu gain over several different years. Some years the difference was as high as 15 bu and some years the rye lost by 2 bu. The years when it lost or showed very little difference was the years we terminated it early because we were worried about losing soil moisture. | |
|
Value of Rye Cover With Soybeans
