- + Font Size

Cover Crop Topic Room: Pest Management

Buckwheat Cover Crop Handbook

Type: Northeast SARE Grantee-Produced Info Product

Buckwheat has been used to suppress weeds on Northeastern farms for 400 years. This handbook outlines...

Download File (458.29 kB)

Influence of Cover Crops on Insect Pests and Predators in Conservation Tillage Cotton

Type: Southern SARE Grantee-Produced Info Product

Results of a two-year research project to determine the impact of several cover crops on pest and predator...

A Sunn Hemp Cover Crop for Soil Health and Nematode Management

Type: Western SARE Grantee-Produced Info Product

These University of Hawaii fact sheets and virtual field day explain how to use sunn hemp as a cover...

Winter Annual Weed Suppression in Rye–Vetch Cover Crop Mixtures

Type: North Central SARE Grantee-Produced Info Product

Zachary Hayden received an NCR-SARE Graduate Student Grant to evaluate the relative effects of rye,...

Download File (190.59 kB)

Invertebrate Pests and Their Natural Enemies in Conservation Tillage Cropping Systems

Type: Northeast SARE Multimedia

In this webinar by Dr. Mary Barbercheck and Maggie Douglas, learn the basics about key early-season...

Optimizing Weed Suppression and Nutrient Use Efficiency in Cover Crop-Based No-Till Organic Corn

Type: Northeast SARE Multimedia

In this webinar, Hanna Poffenbarger of the University of Maryland and Steven Mirsky of the USDA-ARS...

Also, visit SARE's database for reports on these research projects:

Trials and Informing Regional Farmers About Organic Weed Control Methods (2011, New Mexico)
Integrating Ground Cover Crops and New Herbicide Strategies (Conventional and Organic) for Tree Growth and Soil Health, Part 1 and Part 2 (2011, New York)
Suppression of Soybean Diseases Through the Use of Cover Crops (2010, Illinois)
Rolled Down Cover Crop Mulch for Pumpkin and Soybean Production (2009, Pennsylvania)
Selecting a Sunn Hemp Cover Crop Genotype for Weed Suppression and Seed Production (2008, Florida)
Selecting Cover Crops for Diverse Functions: An Integrated Soil Management Approach for Organic Strawberry Production in North Carolina (2007, North Carolina)
Using Cover Crops and Crop Diversity to Optimize Ecologically Based Weed Management (2005, Pennsylvania)
Mustard Green Manures for Potato Production (2003, Washington)

Dig deeper into cover crops research: SARE has funded hundreds of research and education projects related to cover crops since 1988. This topic room features only a glimpse into SARE's entire portfolio of cover crop research. To discover more, visit SARE's database of projects and conduct full text or advanced keyword searches.

Managing Cover Crops Profitably, 3rd Edition

Type: Book

Managing Cover Crops Profitably explores how and why cover crops work and provides all the information needed to build cover crops into any farming operation.

Published: 2007

Pages: 244

Online Version: Free

Download File (5.58 MB)

View HTML

Farmers Say Cover Crops Work

During the fall of 2012, corn yields increased 9.6% when planted after a cover crop, compared to side-by-side fields with no cover crops, and soybean yields improved 11.6% following cover crops. Because of this, and witnessed improvements to soil and water quality, farmers across the Midwest are rapidly expanding their cover crop acreage.

Learn more about farmers' experiences with cover crops in the 2012-2013 Cover Crop Survey. Read a summary or download the full report.

Other Cover Crops Resources

The following organizations offer excellent cover crops resources:

The Midwest Cover Crops Council has extensive information on cover crops for Midwestern farmers, including species descriptions, selector tools, innovator profiles, Extension material and more.

The eOrganic Community of Practice maintains a collection of articles, videos and webinars on organic research, production and certification. This collection includes a section on cover cropping in organic farming systems.

"Unlock the Secrets in the Soil" is a national initiative by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service to promote soil's importance as a natural resource and its vital role in agriculture.