With cash crops in the ground, June through August is a time to look forward to summer crop harvest and winter crop planting. There are many tasks to accomplish during the fall so planning and preparation in the summer is essential.
Plan for Cover Crops
The best time to plant winter cover crops is often when summer crops are being harvested. Choose cover crops to accomplish specific farm goals:
- reduce compaction
- cover the soil surface year-round
- control erosion
- control weeds
- control nematodes
- attract beneficial insects
- fix nitrogen
- scavenge for nitrogen
- scavenge for phosphorus and potassium
- grow quality forage
See Chapter 5 for more information on cover crop selection and management.
Purchase Cover Crop Seed
Buy seed for fall-planted cover crops, seed patches and small-grain cash crops while supplies and selection are good. Seed can be hard to find at planting time. Search for the best price and quality, and have them delivered to the farm.
Service and Repair Equipment
Get equipment ready for harvesting summer cash crops and planting fall crops. This will help avoid downtime during planting.
Download the table from Chapter 4.
Table of Contents
- Author and Contributor List
- Foreword
- Chapter 1: Introduction to Conservation Tillage Systems
- Chapter 2: Conservation Tillage Systems: History, the Future and Benefits
- Chapter 3: Benefits of Increasing Soil Organic Matter
- Chapter 4: The Calendar: Management Tasks by Season
- Chapter 5: Cover Crop Management
- Chapter 6: In-Row Subsoiling to Disrupt Soil Compaction
- Chapter 7: Cash Crop Selection and Rotation
- Chapter 8: Sod, Grazing and Row-Crop Rotation: Enhancing Conservation Tillage
- Chapter 9: Planting in Cover Crop Residue
- Chapter 10: Soil Fertility Management
- Chapter 11: Weed Management and Herbicide Resistance
- Chapter 12: Plant-Parasitic Nematode Management
- Chapter 13: Insect Pest Management
- Chapter 14: Water Management
- Chapter 15: Conservation Economics: Budgeting, Cover Crops and Government Programs
- Chapter 16: Biofuel Feedstock Production: Crop Residues and Dedicated Bioenergy Crops
- Chapter 17: Tennessee Valley and Sandstone Plateau Region Case Studies
- Chapter 18: Southern Coastal Plain and Atlantic Coast Flatwoods Case Studies
- Cash Crop Selection and Crop Rotations
- Specific Management Considerations
- Case Study Farms
- Producer Experiences
- Transition to No-Till
- Changes in Natural Resources
- Changes in Agricultural Production
- Specialty Crops
- Why Change to No-Till?
- Supporting Technologies and Practices
- The Future
- Research Case Study
- Summary
- Chapter 19: Alabama and Mississippi Blackland Prairie Case Studies
- Chapter 20: Southern Piedmont Case Studies
- Appendix
- Glossary
- References