The Key to Producing 200lbs of Nitrogen with Hairy Vetch
"How can I produce enough nitrogen for my next corn crop?"
This is a common question we get this time of year as folks are considering planting hairy vetch in the next few weeks.
The truth is that reducing your synthetic nitrogen input costs requires a mindset shift when looking at your rotation as a whole.
Hairy vetch needs a certain amount of growing days to produce high amounts of nitrogen and that time frame will vary depending on where you’re located. Those growing days can come from earlier planting in the fall and/or later termination in the spring. At our test plots in south central Nebraska, we plant hairy vetch each year around October 10th and year over year the plant will produce 200lbs of nitrogen per acre by mid-May to early June.
Even if 200 lbs of Nitrogen isn't what you produce, even 50-100 lbs could be doable, and what would that mean for savings on your fertilizer bill? When you do the math, that is a huge ROI on that cover crop. Especially when you consider that nitrogen fertilizer costs may increase in 2027.
If you're in the middle of the country or north, producing this amount of nitrogen means that your rotation has to have room for a hairy vetch cover crop mix to reach its full potential. This might mean introducing a small grain to your rotation to allow for earlier cover crop planting in the fall (think end of August, beginning of September) or growing a warm season forage crop in the summer.
Some people opt for growing a shorter season corn variety where planted mid-May or even beginning of June.
And of course, these planting windows will vary greatly depending on where you're located in the country. These recommendations are based on central Nebraska, USDA zone 5b.
Our team can give specific recommendations based on your context and goals. Give us a call at 402-469-6784 or shop hairy vetch directly on our website.
