By Jennifer Whitlock
Field Editor
Cover crops have many benefits, but it takes some planning and patience for farmers and ranchers to see the impacts on the soil.
To help area farmers and ranchers get a better understanding of those benefits and how to get started, Hamilton County Farm Bureau (CFB), along with assistance from Mills CFB, hosted a cover crops field day at the ranch of Alan McAnelly, Hamilton CFB vice president.
“Basically, the purpose of this event was to show if the farmer or rancher wants to consume the energy and the soil, the best way to do that would be with a cover crop instead of leaving it barren during the winter,” Hamilton CFB President Bennie Hromadka said. “Cost-effectiveness was the biggest part of this program, just showing that it doesn’t take a rich farmer or a rancher to start off with some cover crops.”
Since seeing is believing, Hromadka said McAnelly’s place was the perfect venue. McAnelly, who has used cover crops for many years, planted a fall mix this year that includes mustard seed, clover, flax, radishes, turnips, oats, wheat and seasonal grasses.
Hamilton CFB invited Josh Bauman and Trent Manley, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) district conservationists, and Rafael Aldrich, range management specialist, to speak to nearly 30 farmers and ranchers about the advantages of incorporating cover crops into their rotations.
The seed mix McAnelly planted helps put nutrients back in the soil through nitrogen fixation, according to Aldrich and Manley.
The conservationists pulled various plants from the ground to show attendees how the roots were breaking up hard soil and creating pathways for moisture to go deeper into the ground.
Another benefit is that the plant matter breaks down over time, adding even more nutrients back into the soil.
In addition to soil enrichment, cover crops provide ground cover. They crowd out weeds and keep topsoil from drying out and blowing away.
Encouraging more young farmers and ranchers to plant cover crops by showing them a successful example in their area was a goal of Hamilton CFB when deciding to host the event, Hromadka noted.
“Our purpose here is to promote agriculture, and the best way to promote that is to help some of these young farmers and ranchers get more involved and help them be successful,” he said. “The other reason we chose this topic was because we’ve been looking at prices and where our industry is going. Fertilizers have jumped in the last three months. We don’t know what the future holds, but we can start doing things today to help alleviate some of those costs.”
Helping the next generation be successful will keep Texas agriculture thriving well into the future, and some of the older folks might learn a few new tricks, as well, Hromadka said.
For more information on cover crops, plant guides and decision support tools, visit NRCS’s website.