Finding the perfect cover crop has just gotten a whole lot easier.
A new tool from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) is designed to provide the necessary information to help farmers learn about suitable cover crops and how they might help farmers meet their individual production and management goals.
The Cover Crop Chart includes information from various sources. It’s visual and provides a first place farmers can go to learn about cover crops and how certain selections may fit in with other crops being planted.
The chart provides information on each crop’s growth cycle, water use, forage quality and more. The crops are also sorted by similar attributes to make finding the perfect cover crop easier.
The free chart can be found here: http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=20323.