Cover Crop Strategies Podcast

In today's episode of the podcast, brought to you by the National Strip-Tillage Conference, listen to a panel discussion on the state of soil conservation from the most recent Conservation in Action Tour that took place earlier this month in Sioux Falls, S.D. The panel is moderated by Lessiter Media's own Mike Lessiter, and features manager of agronomy for Ducks Unlimited Brian Chatham, president of Field To Market Carrie Vollmer-Sanders as well as South Dakota grower and agronomist Brian Hefty. The discussion covers several hot topics in the world of conservation agriculture including cover crops, no-till, strip-till and much more.

In today's episode of the podcast, brought to you by the National Strip-Tillage Conference, listen to a conversation with Lisa Kubik, an Iowa grower who grazes cattle and grows corn, soybeans and cover crops, while also working with growers through Agoro Carbon Alliance. Hear Lisa discuss her own farm operation, a recent Agoro Carbon cover crop case study where one farmer found success from accidentally planting green, and much more.

In today's episode of the podcast, brought to you by Sound Agriculture, listen to a conversation with John Cussans, a UK based weed biology and management specialist with an organization called ADAS. Cussans addresses multiple confirmed cases of glyphosate resistance in the United Kingdom and how these cases differ and relate to confirmed cases of glyphosate resistance in the United States, as well as what role cover crops can play in cases of glyphosate resistance.

In today's episode of the podcast, brought to you by Sound Agriculture, listen to a conversation between Rockwell City, Iowa grower James Hepp and Carlisle County, Ky., grower Joel Reddick, as they discuss their on-farm cover crop strategies during the Young Farmer Panel at the 2025 National No-Tillage Conference.

In today's episode of the podcast, brought to you by Sound Agriculture, listen to a conversation with Rob Myers, director for the Center for Regenerative Agriculture at University of Missouri. Myers discusses timely cover crop considerations for spring such as species selection, termination timing, grazing options and much more.

In today's episode of the podcast, brought to you by Sound Agriculture, listen to a conversation with Doug Fifer, Virginia no-tiller and president of the Virginia No-Till Alliance (VANTAGE). Fifer reflects on how his soil has changed for the better since implementing cover crops and no-till into his operation back in 2011 and what types of cover crop trials he plans to experiment with during the upcoming 2025 growing season.

In today's episode of the podcast, brought to you by Sound Agriculture, listen to a panel discussion from the 2025 National No-Tillage Conference. This discussion, centered on cover crops and extreme weather conditions, features 4 growers from 4 different states who all have a wealth of experience using cover crops. Listen as No-Till Legend and former Ohio State Extension ag engineer Randall Reeder moderates this panel featuring Ray McCormick, Loran Steinlage, Barry Fisher and Allen Berry.

For this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies Podcast, brought to you by Sound Agriculture, we hear from Olivia Caillouet. She's the soil health program manager at the University of Missouri's Center for Regenerative Agriculture and she's here to discuss some of the newest and most exciting cover crop related projects she's been working on as of late.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by GS3 Quality Seed, Washington State University agronomist Andrew McGuire discusses his extensive research on the pros and cons of using cover crop mixtures vs. monocultures. After he presents his findings, we'll then hear from Jasper, Mo., farmer Macauley Kincaid and Rockwell City, Iowa farmer James Hepp as they unpack some of McGuire's research and offer their own first-hand experience with using cover crops.

For this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by GS3 Quality Seed, I had the opportunity to travel to Jay Baxter's farm in Georgetown, Del., and talk to him about cover crop seeding and termination methods, his opinion on multi-species cover crop mixes, the rich history of his family farm and much more.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by GS3 Quality Seed, I'm joined by Penn State University graduate student Megan Czekaj, as we discuss her research on best practices for applying residual herbicides when planting green. Her project focuses on cereal rye in soybean systems and delves into termination timing, cover crop biomass levels and lots more.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by GS3 Quality Seed, listen to a conversation with Deer Park, Wis., agronomist Joe Ailts, as he discusses everything from nitrogen for a following corn crop, best cover crop blends following small grain harvest, the most outside-the-box ideas he has encountered as an agronomist and much more.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by GS3 Quality Seed, listen to a conversation with Faulkton, S.D., grower Alex Frasier, as he discusses his unique practice of interseeding a cover crop mix into soybeans and how it has helped him save on fertilizer, fuel and other costs.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by Montag Manufacturing, listen to a conversation with Etienne Sutton, a PhD candidate at University of Michigan studying in the Soil & Agroecosystems Lab. She talks about her research on what factors affect cover crop biomass levels and how to improve cover crop performance overall.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by Montag Manufacturing, listen to a conversation with grower and cover crop seeding professional, Mike Unruh, as he talks about three different ways to seed cover crops and explains why he disagrees with growers who say cover cropping in colder climates like Minnesota is too difficult.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by Montag Manufacturing, listen to a conversation with cover crop expert Steve Groff, who farms in southern Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Steve talks about how he first came up with the idea to grow his Winter King Hairy Vetch — a particularly winter-hardy variety of cover crop that is able to survive repetitive freeze-thaw cycles.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by Montag Manufacturing, listen to a conversation with Rory McDonnell, associate professor at Oregon State University, as he discusses his innovative research on combating slugs and snails in cover cropped fields using bread dough.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by SOURCE® from Sound Agriculture, listen to a compilation of audio clips from the 3 most popular episodes of the podcast released in 2023 featuring best practices for aerial seeding cover crops, tips for grazing cover crops, how to use a manure dragline to terminate cover crops and more.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by Montag Manufacturing, listen to a conversation with Ben West, executive director of Farmers for Soil Health, and Ryan Heiniger, a 4th generation farmer and executive director of Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC), as they chat about all the details of the Farmers for Soil Health program and what cover croppers need to know about it.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by SOURCE® from Sound Agriculture, Marisol Berti, Endowed Professor & Plant Sciences Graduate Program Coordinator at North Dakota State University, discusses her multi-year research on nitrogen and cover crops and attempts to answer the question — can we count the nitrogen credits of cover crops for the following cash crop?

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by SOURCE® from Sound Agriculture, listen to a presentation from the Soil Management Summit in Alexandria, Minn., that features Anna Cates, state soil health specialist at the University of Minnesota Extension, and Minnesota no-tiller Tom Pyfferoen, as they discuss how cover crops can help combat drought and what Tom has learned from his on-farm cover crop trials.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by SOURCE® from Sound Agriculture, Marshall County, Iowa no-tiller Wade Dooley shares what he learned from his informal trial of seeding a rye cover crop every month of the year. As a 6th generation farmer, Dooley also shares why he believes communication is the most important thing when transitioning a family farm from one generation to the next.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by SOURCE® from Sound Agriculture, Morgan Jennings, field crops viability coordinator with Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI), discusses PFI's cover crop cost share program as well as her cover crop research on grazing corn residue in the spring.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by SOURCE® from Sound Agriculture, listen to Rob Myers, director of the Center for Regenerative Agriculture at the University of Missouri, as he discusses 4 alternative cover crops and how to manage each one. Myers talks about buckwheat, millet, canola and sunflowers.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by SOURCE® from Sound Agriculture, listen to Gary Zimmer giving a presentation at his farm in Spring Green, Wis. Zimmer, who many refer to as the “father of biological farming,” talks about his farmer origin story and why rye is so important in keeping his soil covered.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by Go Seed, a panel of 3 farmers discuss how they use cover crops with their varying tillage practices. Jim Stute of East Troy, Wis.; Tim Recker of Arlington, Iowa; and Jacob Bolson of Hubbard, Iowa, talk about their own trial and error periods of adopting cover crops and what they've learned through the process.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by Go Seed, listen to a presentation from the 2022 National Cover Crop Summit featuring South Dakota father-and-son farmer duo Barry and Eli Little. They explain how their 2,500 acres of cropland and pastureland have improved by incorporating covers and ruminant animals on every acre, as well as how they use rotational grazing with their cattle and the economic benefits they've enjoyed from implementing covers and livestock.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies Podcast, brought to you by Go Seed, Oliver Peoples, president and CEO of Metabolix Yield 10 Bioscience company, discusses camelina, its benefits as a cool-season cover crop and potential incentives for farmers to grow camelina.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies Podcast, brought to you by Go Seed, listen to a popular presentation from a previous National Cover Crop Summit featuring Dean Sponheim. Sponheim, a fourth-generation farmer from Osage, Iowa, who has been aerial seeding cover crops since 2012, discusses how to handle common aerial seeding challenges, recommended rate of establishment for aerial seeding, which species of cover crops do best when aerial seeded and much more.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies Podcast, brought to you by Go Seed, Tyler Williams and Zach Larson, sustainable systems agronomists with Bayer, share details on a program called ForGround, which aims to assist and provide support to farmers who are adopting or expanding regenerative agriculture practices. Williams and Larson also chat about what factors they consider when providing advice to farmers in a variety of different regions.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies Podcast, brought to you by Go Seed, Charlie Morrey, a multimedia agricultural journalist with Agriland in Dublin, Ireland, talks about Irish regenerative farming practices, some of the biggest struggles that farmers in Ireland and other parts of Europe face and how U.S. farmers can learn from them. Charlie also talks about her experience growing up on an arable farm on the Isle of Man.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies Podcast, brought to you by the National Strip-Tillage Conference, Aries Haygood of Vidalia, Ga., talks about his unconventional path into the world of agriculture and how he first started learning about cover crops. Haygood also talks about what equipment works best for him as a grower of Georgia's famous Vidalia Onions, which are known to have a very sweet flavor due to the low amount of sulfur in the soil in that part of Georgia.

While using herbicides to terminate cover crops is a common practice for many growers, some are looking for mechanical methods instead. In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by Montag Manufacturing, Scott Healy of Hartford, S.D., joins us for a discussion about his experience using a manure dragline to terminate cover crops. Healy also discusses the difference between oats and cereal rye as a cover crop on his farm, chopping corn silage and much more.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by Montag Mfg., Roy Pfaltgraff of Haxtun, Colo., talks about the unique cover crop strategies that he uses in his operation at Pfaltzgraff Farms. Roy grows 14 different crops with only 16 inches of precipitation, something he calls an arid region solution to the many challenges of cover crops.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by Montag Mfg., assistant editor Mackane Vogel sits down with Jeff Gaska, who farms outside of Beaver Dam, Wis. Gaska uses almost every soil health practice in the book to build healthy soil and farm profitability. He focuses on grazing and frost seeding, but he also does fall cover cropping, no-till and interseeding. Listen to this episode to find out why Jeff thinks it's important to incorporate not just one, but all components of the soil health holy grail.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by Montag Mfg., Ryan Schmid, a research scientist and agroecologist at the Ecdysis Foundation in South Dakota, gives a preview into his upcoming presentation at the 2023 National Cover Crop Summit. His presentation features a “how-to” guide and background info on how Ryan turned tillage equipment into a roller crimper for terminating cover crops. He says if he can do it, anyone can.

No matter where or what you farm, your operation can benefit from cover crops. Planting covers improves soil biology, increases water infiltration, saves money and more. In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by Montag Manufacturing, Seth Watkins of southern Iowa joins us for a discussion about the benefits of incorporating cover crops into your operation specifically as a means to stay committed to improving soil health, conserving the land and keeping our waters clean.

In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by Montag Mfg., Brian Ward of Clemson University's Coastal Research and Education Center in Charleston, S.C., joins us for a discussion about maximizing the benefits of cover crops in vegetable and organic systems. Ward also discusses some of his research on organic watermelon growth and its relation to pollen and bees.

As 2022 comes to a close, we're revisiting some of the most-played episodes of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by SOURCE by Sound Agriculture. Listen in as we count down the top three most-played episodes of 2022, featuring insight the economic returns of grazing beef cattle on cover crops, the costs of cover crops compared to tillage and soil compaction, and reducing fertilizer use with cover crops.

On this week's edition of Cover Crop Strategies, brought to you by SOURCE® by Sound Agriculture, Jim Denys of Parkhill, Ont., Dean Jackson of Columbia Crossroads, Penn., and Lucinda Stuenkel of Palmer, Kan., join us for a panel discussion about the benefits of incorporating cover crops into your operation — wherever you farm.

This week's episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by Source by Sound Agriculture, features an interview with Andrew Moore, the Executive Director at the National Agricultural Aviation Association.

This week's episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast features John Wallace, an Assistant Professor of Weed Science at Pennsylvania State University. Wallace talks about why the V4-V5 stage of corn growth is the best time to put cover crops on 30-inch corn. That period allows for cover crop development before the canopy closes.

2022 Strip-Till Innovator award winner Bryan Ryberg farms 5,200 acres in Buffalo Lake, Minn. He was the first grower to strip-till sugar beets in Minnesota. Cover crops are everywhere on Ryberg's farm. He's particularly partial to cereal rye for weed and erosion control. In this episode of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, editor Michaela Paukner talks to Ryberg about his practices, including cover crops, about preserving soil health, and more.

On this episode of Cover Crop Strategies, brought to you by Source by Sound Agriculture, cover cropper and no-tiller Jesse Horn talks about his new approach, and about how expanded from a seed dealer into a full-service equipment dealer under the brand Big H Ag Supply, and more.

We're taking the show on the road this week to Boone, Iowa, for a look at some of the cover crop equipment on display at the Farm Progress Show. For this episode of Cover Crop Strategies, brought to you by Verdesian Life Sciences, we'll hear from APV-America's Cameron White, Yetter's Andy Thompson, Unverferth's Andy Unverferth and Mandako's Mark Lussier. They'll showcase their company's products and talk about the latest trends in the cover crop world. Videos from the conversations in this podcast can be found on the Cover Crop Strategies video page.

Wisconsin dairyman Chris Conley was motivated to make mammoth changes on his farm after attending a Dodge County Farmers for Healthy Soil and Water meeting in 2018. Almost five years later he's gone from full tillage to 100% no-till and planting green across his 120 acres in Neosho, Wis.

You'll be hard pressed to find someone who knows more about soil health than Jay Fuhrer. The soil health specialist spent nearly 40 years with the USDA and is now pushing the envelope at the Menoken Conservation Demonstration Farm just east of Bismarck, N.D. In this edition of the Cover Crop Strategies podcast, brought to you by Verdesian Life Sciences, Fuhrer shares some key observations from Menoken, in addition to breaking down the 5 principles of soil health: soil armor, minimal soil disturbance, plant diversity, continual living plant/root and livestock integration.

Myron Sylling farms over 1,600 acres with his brother, Mikal, in Spring Grove, Minnesota. Through various on-farm research trials, the Sylling brothers have been able to get an accurate read on the benefits of cover crops in their no-till system. On this week's edition of Cover Crop Strategies, brought to you by Verdesian Life Sciences, Myron details how cover crops are paying off, from scavenging nutrients to increasing soil organic matter by 1%. Myron also explains the importance of on-farm testing and shares a valuable tip that could help prevent yield loss when planting green with corn.

First-generation farmer James Hepp, of Rockwell City, Iowa, joins us for this week's edition of Cover Crop Strategies, brought to you by Verdesian Life Sciences. In just his third year on the job, Hepp is already seeing several benefits from cover crops, perhaps none bigger than weed control.

Joe Hamilton was a mechanical engineer for 12 years before returning to the farm in 2015. He farms about 2,500 acres, growing corn and soybeans with his family in East Central Ind. For this edition of Cover Crop Strategies, brought to you by Verdesian Life Sciences, Joe gives us the rundown on all the species that cover nearly 75% of his farm, including annual ryegrass, barley, cereal rye, oats, rapeseed and crimson clover.

For this episode of Cover Crop Strategies, brought to you by Verdesian Life Sciences, we're tapping into TJ Kartes' knowledge about all things cover crops, from seeding tips to some of the biggest challenges his customers face. We'll also get TJ's take on equipment trends, potential regulations, cover crop myths and why farmers shouldn't wait until the last minute to order seeds for the fall.