Northwest Iowa — If you raise row-crops and cattle, a research specialist from Practical Farmers of Iowa says you should be using cover crops.
Research specialist Sarah Carlson has been studying cover crops since 2008.
The corn stalks are full of carbon and the green, nitrogen-rich cover crop helps cattle digest and eat more stalks, therefore saving on hay costs. Carlson says, as the cow processes all the carbon, that leads to more benefits.
She says fall grazing of cover crops should be a “no-brainer” for cattle producers, and there are ways to work around some of the challenges of spring grazing, like compaction from the cows.
