Without question, the interest in cover crops is for soil health benefits. However, using cover crops as a tool to improve soil health is a long-term investment with additional costs of production. It is necessary to understand that changes in soil health resulting from cover crop management can take several years or decades to happen.

Production costs remain high as crop prices decline. Cattle numbers increase and compete for scarce pastures. Converting cropland to pasture might make sense, but plan ahead and do it right.

Incorporating small grains offers many benefits for forage production; however, not all small-grain species are equal when it comes to forage production. There are substantial differences in terms of seasonality, cold tolerance and the ability of the species to be incorporated into existing cropping systems.

Recent increases in the cost of nitrogen (N) fertilizer are causing crop and pasture managers to reconsider the use of legume species for their long-known ability to fix N for themselves and other crops.