MCCC Cover Crop Selector Tool

Tom Kaspar

USDA-ARS

National Laboratory

for Agriculture and

the Environment

Ames, Iowa

Dean Baas

Michigan State Univ.

Lead Scientist

MCCC Cover Crop

Selector Tool

Why do we need a “selector” tool?

• There are a lot of cover crop species

• There is a lot of confusing information

• Every state, every county, and every

rotation is different – climate varies

• Cover crops have small planting windows

• We don’t have a lot of experience

• To provide our best estimate at this time

• Framework for improving information as

we learn more

Selecting a Cover Crop

• What is your cash crop rotation?

• Where are you in your state?

• Does the cover crop overwinter?

• When and how can you plant?

• How fast does it grow? How much?

• Why are you planting a cover crop?

• What is the seed cost/acre?

Adapting the Tool to Each County

• Used the average 28ºF frost dates

• Incorporated information from MCP book

and other sources

• Assembled an “expert panel” for each

state

• Looked at what previous states had done

• Made our best guesses

• Planned to modify when “new” information

was available

http://www/sare/org/publications/covercrops/covercrops.pdf

Differences in Fall dates of 50% probability of occurrence of a 28ºF frost across Iowa:

NW (Lyon) to SE (Lee) Oct. 6 to Oct. 28 = 22 days

NE (Allamakee) to SW (Fremont) Oct. 16 to Oct. 20 = 4 days

NW (Lyon) to SW (Fremont) Oct. 6 to Oct. 20 = 14 days

NC (Winnebago) to SC (Wayne) Oct. 11 to Oct. 17 = 6 days

NE (Allamakee) to SE (Lee) Oct. 16 to Oct. 28 = 12 days

Story County Oct. 13

Midwest Cover Crops Council Website

http://www.mccc.msu.edu/

Lee County – SE Iowa

Lyon County – NW Iowa

Questions?

515-294-8873

Tom.Kaspar@

ars.usda.gov