Studies seek to quantify their advantages.

Cover crops never seem too far removed from the focus of producers, whether they’re addressed in a conference presentation, a conversation across the back of a pick-up or as part of a research project. The good news for advocates is there are studies with intriguing numbers to support the practice.

In 2020, the Ontario Cover Crops Strategy published its Cover Crop Feedback Report, summarizing input from 520 farmers who grew cover crops on more than 100,000 acres across the province. The survey found:
-91 per cent stating, “they had observed benefits from growing cover crops”
-77 per cent had observed benefits within three years of adopting cover crops
-68 per cent stated they had seen improved soil health
-59 per cent observed less erosion, and
-57 per cent had seen increased soil organic matter levels.

Detractors may cite the results as anecdotal, with no distinction as to the size of the farming operation, whether they were single or multi-species blends, the time of year they were planted or the crop rotations. But the numbers are compelling.

The 2021 Agricultural Census of Canada offered a longer-term perspective and further indication of the rise in the number of farms reporting the use of winter cover crops (Table 1) dating back to 2006. Again, the figures didn’t provide context like total acres, specific timing or the species planted. Yet subsequent stories in the farm media reflected a growing interest, often extending beyond under-seeding red clover to winter wheat.

Table 1 -Use of winter crops, 2006 to 2021

Source: Statistics Canada

“There’s space for every type of grower in the cover crop movement, like those who are doing all kinds of innovative things,” says Jake Munroe, field crops soil management specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). “There are those who are making it work with a simpler approach, sometimes on large acres. Both are important.”

Helpful initiatives
As a bridge to trying something different -to test the impacts on an individual farm level -there are several cost-share programs. Despite claims that such funding initiatives are ineffective in the long-term, Munroe believes programs like the On Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF) have been a considerable benefit to many across Ontario.

“A recent study in the Northeastern United States looked at incentive program participants who -once they finished the program -saw cover crop use was 37 per cent higher than before enrolment,” he says. “They didn’t keep up the same level as when they were getting paid, but 37 per cent is a significant increase.”

While accepting submissions, OFCAF provided 65 per cent cost-share to growers to seed cover crops and let them overwinter on acres that had not been previously seeded. More than 130,000 acres of farmland were supported for the 2022 and 2023 growing seasons for planting cover crops. Inter-seeding cover crops took place on more than 50,000 acres.

Interest in the OFCAF program continues to be solid and is administered by the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA). Growers should check the website for details on the latest intakes, or contact Elite Agri Solutions for more information on this and other submissions, at 519 – 953 – 4479, or go to https://eliteagrisolutions.ca/.

Other results
Cost is often the biggest factor for those who caution against unreasonable expectations on cover crops, and the Cover Crop Feedback Report published in 2020 reflected that. Among growers who didn’t plant a cover crop that year, the added costs -particularly for seed -topped the list of barriers. A counter to that is to make an over-wintering revenue crop -wheat, barley, rye or canola -a cover crop.

Other reasons for not planting cover crops were a lack of equipment, concerns that a late harvest could prevent planting, lack of familiarity and the shortness of the growing season. In the Feedback Report, there were also 211 farms in Ontario which didn’t grow a cover crop in 2020, with 52 per cent never growing a cover crop but wanting to try it in the future, nine per cent not wanting to try and 39 per cent who had tried it in a previous year.

The Ontario Cover Crop Action Strategy partnered with the Ontario Agricultural Soil Health and Conservation Strategy to create its Feedback Report.

Further reading:

https://gfo.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Ontario-Report-V12-Dec-1st-For-PDF-conversion-for-publishing.pdf

On Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF)