Progress report for ONC24-144
Project Information
Cover crop adoption is increasing
in the North Central Region (NCR), but many cover crop benefits
depend on successful plant growth, or biomass. Preliminary data
from a community science project conducted in partnership with
100 NCR farmers from 2022-2023 show that cover crop biomass is
highly variable across working farms. This is because a range of
environmental and management factors influence cover crop growth,
and thus their contributions to nutrient cycling, soil health,
and weed suppression. We propose to expand upon this community
science project, with the goal of equipping farmers with the
knowledge and resources to improve cover crop management.
Specifically, we will collaborate with NCR farmers from six Great
Lakes states (MI, OH, IN, IL, WI, MN) to: 1) understand variation
in cover crop biomass across different farming conditions using a
brief field assessment paired with a short management survey; 2)
develop practical recommendations for optimizing cover crop
outcomes based on those findings; and 3) facilitate network
building and knowledge sharing through field days, webinars, and
an interactive ArcGIS Storymap. These activities will be guided
by an advisory committee of farmers from across the region, whose
expertise will enhance the design, implementation, and
application of this work.
Our proposal uses an integrated approach, combining community
science, outreach, and education in partnership with farmers
across the NCR to meet the following objectives:
-
Partner with the NCR farming
community to identify key drivers of variation in cover crop
performance across the region. -
Develop practical and
context-specific recommendations for optimizing cover crop
performance in different growing conditions. -
Facilitate learning, network
building, and data sharing within the agricultural community
through field days, webinars, an interactive ArcGIS Storymap,
and infographics portraying innovative practices used on
participating farms.
Cooperators
Research
Building on a community science study piloted on 253 fields across six NCR states in Spring 2022-2023, this project pairs a management survey and field survey to identify key factors driving cover crop performance across different farming conditions. Cover crop biomass is the main response variable because it is a key determinant of ecosystem service delivery. Using a brief field survey developed during the pilot study, partnering farmers collect cover crop height measurements and ground cover photos before termination each spring, which can then be used to quantify cover crop biomass for cereal rye (R2 = 0.84) and multi-species mixtures (R2 = 0.79). The management survey asks questions about cover crop management (e.g., species, seeding rates, planting strategy), as well as general field management (e.g., tillage practices, nutrient management).When paired together, the field survey and management survey data can be analyzed using regression trees (a machine learning technique) to determine context-specific strategies for improving cover crop performance.
Since beginning our Partnership Grant in September 2024, we have completed several new activities. In fall 2024, we updated the management survey in collaboration with our farmer advisory committee to improve the clarity and specificity of questions, and add new questions on topics of interest to the farming community, such as planting green. We then began recruiting farmers to participate through emails, phone calls, and sharing presentations and handouts at farmer-focused events. To participate, farmers must have at least one field of overwintering cover crops. If they met the criteria, farmers were then invited to complete a management survey online using Qualtrics for each overwintering cover crop field they wished to include in the study. Because farmers have enrolled cover crop types beyond cereal rye and mixtures this year (e.g., red clover, other grasses), we have been identifying fields on a rolling basis to visit this spring to calibrate the field survey for these new cover crop types. This will involve destructively sampling cover crop biomass with quadrats in conjunction with performing the field survey, and then correlating the two methods.
As of February 2025, 85 farmers have submitted management surveys for 173 fields. We aim to recruit an additional 25 farmers and 50 fields before the end of March. Of the 173 fields enrolled thus far, 80 are mixtures, 68 are cereal rye, and the remaining 25 fields include winter wheat, annual ryegrass, triticale, winter barley, oats, red clover, hairy vetch, or “other.” There are 54 fields enrolled in Michigan, 27 in Ohio, 11 in Indiana, 27 in Illinois, 7 in Wisconsin, and 47 in Minnesota. Two of the project team members working on recruitment efforts are based out of Michigan and Minnesota, contributing to strong participation in those states. The fields span a range of soil textures, which has been noted by farmers as a key variable of interest, with 31% classified as silt loam; 27% as clay loam; 24% as sandy loam; 5% as clay; 5% as sand; and 4% as loam.
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
Since the initiation of this grant in September 2024, the project leadership has delivered three in-person presentations and two virtual presentations on various aspects of this project to a wide range of farmers and agricultural professionals. Specifically, we have given talks at the Great Lakes Crop Summit; the Forage Seed Production Forum; Midwest Cover Crop Council annual meeting; Cultivating Resilience Western Michigan Conference; and the Wisconsin Vegetable Producers webinar series. We also initiated a Virtual Cover Crop Chat series, as described above in the “other educational activities” section. Our project was featured in the NOAA Nutrient Runoff Bulletin, a quarterly newsletter distributed widely to researchers, students, and agricultural professionals involved in water quality work. Finally, we created an Interactive Cover Crop Map that is publicly available online as an education and outreach tool to help farmers and agricultural professionals identify what types of cover crops and management strategies work best across different locations and growing conditions. It features data from over 250 cover crop fields collected during the pilot phase of this project from 2021-2023. We plan to update the map with new data points each spring.
Upcoming education and outreach activities include a presentation at the Conservation Tillage and Technology Conference; the continuation of our Virtual Cover Crop Chat series; and a webinar to help farmers participating in the research component of this project prepare for spring data collection.
Learning Outcomes
We have not yet collected learning outcome data.
Project Outcomes
This project will contribute to agricultural sustainability in multiple ways. By generating context-specific management recommendations for improving cover crop performance, farmers across the north-central region will reap greater environmental and economic benefits from their cover crops. For example, high biomass cover crops contribute to greater weed control and nutrient cycling, which can then reduce the need for expensive inputs like herbicides and fertilizers that also harm the environment. Strong cover crop growth is crucial for building soil health and organic matter, which then increases the long-term resilience of farms by buffering against extreme and unpredictable weather patterns. There are also plans underway to integrate the methods and findings of this project into water quality programs that offer cover crop incentive payments to farmers based on site-specific best management practices and a minimum biomass threshold. Importantly, our community science approach will contribute to improved farmer wellbeing. The Virtual Cover Crop Chats and Interactive Cover Crop Map support farmer-to-farmer learning and help participants build a trusted network of peers. Farmers will also benefit from engaging in collective action through this project, which can foster a sense of community and empowerment, along with being highly effective at catalyzing change.
None to report yet.