Cover crops can provide benefits for soil health and crop production systems but they use moisture which can be limiting in lower rainfall areas such as western Kansas. Post-wheat planted cover crops offer a potentially longer and more flexible grazing period than spring planted cover crops within wheat-based dryland cropping systems. However, low available soil moisture and variable weather patterns at this time of year can make cover crop establishment and productivity highly variable. In addition, concerns regarding diminishing good wheat stubble, managing volunteer wheat to reduce disease transmission, and controlling weeds need to be considered. Continue reading “Variability in Production in Summer Planted Annual Forages for Grazing”
