Yes, if you're interested in learning more about increasing profitability throguh the use of cover crops, check out this video.
 

We define a cover crop as a crop planted for the primary purpose of improving soil health. There could be a whole host of secondary goals to follow, but the real underlying purpose of a cover crop is to first and foremost improve the soil. After that we could be interested in producing nitrogen for the following crop, growing lots of biomass to use as a grazing crop, or even improving the mycorrhizal fungi count in our soil.Cash crops and cover crops can work in tandem with each other and if managed properly should contribute to the overall profitability and productivity of the entire operation.

Cover crops can be used for any soil health goal you have in mind. Some of the common goals for cover crops include building soil organic matter, cycling nutrients, providing forage for grazing, fixing nitrogen in the soil, etc.

• Increase Soil Organic Matter
• Erosion Reduction
• Nutrient Cycling
• Nitrogen Fixation
• Provide Lasting Residue
• Weed Suppression
• Compaction Breaking
• Supplemental Grazing
• Diversify Introduced Perennial Pasture
• Attract Beneficial Insects
• Salinity Tolerance
• Mycorrhizal Fungi Growth
• Nematode Control
• Winter Stockpiling
• Interseed into Corn
• Introduce Annuals into WS Perennial Pasture
• Introduce Annuals into CS Perennial Pasture
• Grazing with Regrowth
• Establish New Introduced Perennial Pasture

Yes, cover crops can be used anywhere you find soil. Cover crops make excellent additions to garden or small urban farm rotations. Check out our line-up of pre-made mixes or use our decision tree to find the right cover crop for your garden or small farm.

In general, cover crops pose very little risk to those who plant them. When used properly, cover crops can accomplish the goals you desire at a relatively low cost. Cover crops can, however, pose a threat to a following cash crop if they are not managed properly, for example, if a cover crop of rye and vetch is allowed to reach full maturity in a very dry environment, it is likely that the cover crop will have used much of the soil moisture for its own production. This is why it’s important to talk to a cover crop expert and discuss your unique environment, goals, and rotation. When managed properly, covering crops should provide benefits to your soil and farm.

Cover crops start working the minute you plant them in the ground, however it may take even a few years to start to physically see the benefits of adding a cover crop to your rotation. If you’re not seeing any physical results above ground try digging in the soil and observing what you find. It’s helpful to take note of what you are noticing in your soil before you start using cover crops to help you be a better observer of changes in the soil when they do start to happen.

Check out our decision guide to help you d ecide which cover crop is right for you.

Check out our decision guide to help you d ecide which cover crop is right for you.

Or, build your own custom mix using the SmartMix Calculator

Green Cover uses Diatomaceous Earth, which is made from a fossilized diatom, or ground small crustaceans, in a natural way to control insects in grain. The small crustacean shells act as grinders for the soft exoskeleton of the grain weevils. For rare severe infestations, we use a short residual life pesticide, but that is only for worst case scenarios.

We strive to process all orders within 3-5 business days. After that your order will ship our from one of our locations and depending on your location should reach you within 3-7 business days.

Yes, Green Cover works with small producers. If you’re interested in a cover crop mix, use this decision guide to help you find the right cover crop mix for you.

Please note, while we love providing solutions for smaller producers, we can't create custom mixes for orders under 10 acres. That's why we've made 35+ pre-made mixes available on our online store, so you should be able to find a mix that works for your goals.

Yes, Green Cover works with farmers and ranchers from all over the country providing cover crop solutions for all types of operations.

You can order seed online, contact a sales rep, or build your own mix with our SmartMix Calculator. 

Yes, Green Cover works with hunters and wildlife enthusiasts with a full line-up of food plot mixes designed with our cover crop expertise and the expertise of wildlife biologist Grant Woods of Growing Deer TV.  

Green Cover contracts over 60% of our cover crop seed. This means we work directly with US farmers, many who use regenerative practices themselves, to source our high quality seed. Seed grown in a regenerative environment is very health and robust because it was grown in healthy, high functioning soil. Read more about seed in a regenerative system here. Be cause we offer such a wide range of cover crop species, some of the specialty crops are only grown in certain parts of the country or from around the world. We source these seeds from responsible growers that work hard to grow the highest quality seed.

Our seed is shipped in two different ways and dependin on the size of the order will either ship on pallets or in boxes. For smaller orders (usually 300# or less) the seed is bagged in a particular bag size and shipped in a corresponding box. We ship these packages through USPS, UPS, and FedEx. If your order is larger than 300# it will likely be shipped on a pallet on a semi truck. Seed on a pallet is either packaged in bags or a large tote per the customer’s preference. Pallet orders are always shrink wrapped to ensure safe transit for the seed.

Seed can be stored for many months in a cool, dry location. Properly stored seed will maintain its quality for up to two years. After that, the germination rate will likely begin to decline, though the seed can still be used.

You can order seed through our online store, our SmartM ix Calculator, by contacting a s ales rep, or by g iving us a call at (402) 469-6784.

Check out our decision guides to help you pick the right pre-made mix for you. You can also use our online comparison tool to help you narrow down your search if you’re stuck between a few different options.

Farm/Ranch decision guide 

Food Plot decision guide

Garden/Homestead decision guide 

Cover crops vary in cost from as little as $10/ac to more than $100/ac for some perennial mixes. In general an average cover crop runs between $20-50/ac depending on your goals. Many cost share programs exist to provide incentive for planting cover crops. You can find out more about cost share programs here.  

A highly diverse mix of cover crop seed, generally will not separate in the planter box. If you have a simple mix with only 2-4 species and the seed size is dramatically different you may notice some separation in the planter box. This can be avoided by planting the seed separately or adding a few more species to increase the diversity in the mix.

You can find the seeding rate for all the cover crops on our online store listed on e ach product page listed below the prices. You will also find this information on the seed tag of any mix you purchase from us.

You have lots of options for planting methods when it comes to cover crop seed. It’s important to remember the more precise you are with planting, the more you set the cover crop up for success. We always recommend using a drill of some sort to ensure the best seed to soil contact. If you don’t have access to a drill or it’s impractical to drill your specific cover crop you can also broadcast your cover crop. Remember, anything you can do to increase the seed to soil contact (such as incorporation or mulching) will give your crop a better chance at success. For more info about what implement to use check out this article and this webinar video.
 

When you plant your cover crop all depends on what your goals are. Cover crops can be planted almost year round and the timing of planting depends on the type of cover crop you are seeding. Check out thiese articles on spring planting, and fall planting for more details.

Yes, cover crops work great in a no-till system. Many farmers may even experience a plateau after a few years of no-till until they add in cover crops and start to see huge soil health benefits.

No, you do not need to fertilize your cover crop, and in most cases it’s advantageous not to fertilize as that will force the plants to work with the soil biology to access the nutrients they need. In some very specific cases it may be helpful to provide a little bit of fertilizer, but in general we do not recommend it.

All crops need water and cover crops are no exception. With that being said, however, we see that highly diverse mixes of plants do not require nearly the amount of water as a monoculture of a crop might need. Depending on your situation it may be helpful to water your cover crop to get it established or to help it survive a severe drought. Again this is dependent on your specific goals for your cover crop.

Cover crops can be used anywhere you have soil. Different cover crops will work better in different soil types and in different climates. Be sure to understand your specific cover crop needs and do your research or talk with one of our sales representatives to make sure you have the best experience with cover crops as possible.

Whether or not your cover crop is working is largely dependent on your initial goals for the cover crop. A cover crop will almost always be doing your soil good if it’s germinated and growing. If you can’t see your cover crop above ground yet try digging up a few seeds to see if it’s germinated. Sometimes the seed will lay dormant in the soil until it receives enough moisture to germinate. We all love to see a full, thick stand of cover crop, usually a sure sign that you’re achieving the goals you set out to achieve. If your cover crop, however, looks less than impressive, be assured it is still providing great benefits for the soil, keeping the microbial life happy, protecting it from erosion, and maybe even providing at least a little bit of forage for your livestock. Having realistic expectations for your cover crop based on the planting and growing conditions is crucial.

We almost always recommend a diverse multi-species cover crop because of the vast amount of benefits from all the diversity of plants.

Cover crops that grow thick biomass layers are great at helping to supress weeds. Grasses and legumes usually make up the bulk of the biomass in a mix, so these types of plants should be chosen if weed suppression is a main concern. Grasses will take a longer time to breakdown and will maintain a thick mat on the surface of the soil for a longer period of time further helping to suppress weeds.

Yes, cover crops can help growers reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Remember cover crops are not a quick fix and farmers need to “earn the right” to reduce their synthetic inputs when their soils are healthy and functioning properly.

Green manure is an organic fertilizer that adds organic matter and nutrients to the soil. Plants or plant material, including cover crops are generally seen as a form of green manure. If cover crops are left to decompose in the soil, they will provide lots of nutrients and soil health benefits.

Hairy vetch will generally produce more pounds of nitrogen per acre compared to crimson clover. Check out the product pages for hairy vetch and crimson clover to get potential N fix numbers, and use the comparison tool to seem them side by side.

Nitrogen is mostly produced by rhizobia bacteria on the roots of legume plants. We always recommend inoculating your legume cover crop with rhizobia to ensure the proper colonization of nitrogen fixing bacteria for the specific legume type. The amount of nitrogen produced depends on lots of factors including plant species, soil type, soil health, how long the plant is growing, and what time of year its growing. Refer to the legumes on our online store to see a range of potential nitrogen production in lbs/ac for each of the legume plants. If you want to compare the nitrogen-fixing capacity of different legume species, use the comparison tool on our store.

This is a tough question to answer because we don’t know exactly how synthetic chemistry impacts the living organisms in a seed inoculant and the impact may even vary a case-by-case basis. Likely the herbicide will not do anything to the inoculant, especially if drilling the seed into the ground. Fungicide will likely impede the fungal species that are found in many of our inoculants but the fungicide may not impact the rhizobium bacteria at all.

Inoculants can be viable on the seed anywhere from a few days to multiple months on the seed. See the product information on inoculant product pages for more details.  

Most of our inoculants are OMRI approved. See our inoculants page for more information about which products are OMRI approved.

See this video for a dem onstration of how to apply inoculants.

Check out our inoculants page for a list of inoculants we sell.

We always recommend inoculating legumes with the appropriate rhizobium bacteria for that species unless you believe you already have that rhizobium bacteria in your soil. It is often low cost insurance to make sure the legume plants grow well and fix nitrogen.

Beyond rhizobium inoculants for legumes, there are several other inoculant products that can provide benefits to the plants and the soil. Consider the goals of the cover crop, the condition of the soil and your budget to determine if you will get a good ROI on a seed inoculant.

Most of our inoculants are OMRI approved. See our inoculants page for more information about which products are OMRI approved.

Some of the seed we offer is organic. See our online store for our list of organic products.

We do not sell any GMO seed.

Each plant whether its a cover crop, a cash crop or even a weed belongs to a specific plant family. Plants in a plant family function very similarly, form associations with the same soil microbes, grow similar root structures, and utilize the same nutrients from the soil. By combining plant families in a cover crop mix we greatly increase the diversity in the soil, not only from a plant species perspective, but also from a soil microbes perspective. Many soil experts recommend having at least 5-6 different plant families represented in a diverse cover crop mix. To learn more about using the Smartmix calculator to create a mix with multiple plant families, check out this video. You can also see which plant family a cover crop belongs to one each product page on our online store.

We have all sorts of resources from articles to Soil Health Resource Guides to webinars all on our Resources page. 

The time that you terminate your cover crop greatly depends on your goals for the cover crop. It’s important to have a termination plan and backup plan prior to planting the cover crop. Having a plan will set you up for success with the cover crop.

There are many options and methods for terminating cover crops. Here's an overview:

Freeze Kill Termination:

Works best for…

• Summer or Fall planted cover crops
• When you don’t want any cover crops to come back in the spring

Avoid this option if…

• You want cover crops to grow up in the spring
• You’re trying to achieve weed suppression in the spring
• You’re planting a spring cover crop

Tillage Termination:

Works best for…

• Organic operations
• Where residue breakdown needs to be accelerated

Avoid this option if…

• You have very sloped fields where erosion is a big concern
• You’re trying to achieve maximum weed suppression

Chemical Termination:

Works best for…

• Terminating prior to a cash crop
• You’re avoiding tillage
• Diverse cover crops

Avoid this option if…

• You’re certified organic

Roller Crimping

Works best for…

• Organic growers
• A first option for a cash crop situation
• You have a very simple mix or a single species crop cover crop

Avoid this option if…

• Have a very diverse mix and the plants will mature at different times
• You don’t have a roller crimper

Grazing or Mowing Termination:

Works best for…

• You’re planning to plant another forage crop
• You can use an additional termination method such as herbicide to fully terminate the cover crop

Avoid this option if…

• You’re planning to plant a cash crop immediately following the cover crop
• You don’t want to graze the cover crop once it’s reached reproductive stage

For more information about termination check out this video.  

To make your own custom mix you can use our SmartMix calculator. If you would like help from one of our expert sales representatives in making a mix reach out to us today.

Please note, we can only design custom mixes for 10 acres or more. If you’re looking for a mix in smaller quantity, browse our selection of 35+ pre-made mixes. Or, try our pre-made mix decision guide.

You can start creating your own custom cover crop mix with our online SmartMix calculator. Create an account at the link here and follow the instructions to start building a cover crop mix based on your location, rotation, and goals.

Once you have a cover crop mix created you will be prompted to submit your mix for review. One of our expert sales representatives will review your mix and make any suggestions. They will provide you with a final quote that includes shipping. You can work with the representative more to make adjustments to your mix or go ahead and place the order.

Yes, most cover crops can be grazed. If grazing is one of your primary goals with your cover crop check out our grazing mixes. For mixes over 10 acres, you can also work with a sales representative to help you design a custom grazing mix for your situation.

Most perennials should be planted sometime between August and April.