Discover sustainable practices to enhance soil quality and crop yields. Our resource highlights the importance of healthy soils, cover crops, and smart tillage for growing organic food, benefiting both farmers and researchers alike.

Cover crop “cocktails,” or mixtures containing three or more species, are gaining popularity in organic vegetable production due to their potential to increase ecosystem services and enhance crop production. This study aims to address the research gap in understanding the multifunctional impact of summer cover crop mixtures on organic vegetable production in Upper Midwest conditions.

Comparing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions between cropping systems can be an effective way of identifying GHG hotspots and developing targeted reduction strategies. This study, conducted in Bozeman, MT, evaluated how cropping system (organic vs. conventional) and cropping sequence impacted agricultural greenhouse gas emissions in a winter wheat-based crop rotation.

Winter cover crops can provide significant soil health benefits and serve as an important source of forage for livestock during colder months. This study, conducted by the University of Minnesota, evaluated the interacting effects of winter cover crops and cattle grazing on soil fertility and soil enzyme activity in an organic corn-soybean system.

Emissions of greenhouse gasses in agricultural systems contribute to climate change. Cover crops can be grown to replace fallow periods and provide a number of ecosystem benefits, particularly those related to soil health and emissions from soil. This study evaluated the effects of cover crop monocultures and mixtures on greenhouse gas emissions, soil moisture, and soil temperature in organic cotton systems.

Seedcorn maggot (Delia platura) is an economically important early-season insect pest of corn and soybean in the United States. Organic growers are in search of effective strategies for mitigating crop risk from seedcorn maggots. This study assessed the effects of cash crop planting date, cover crop mixture, and tillage on the emergence of seedcorn maggots in Pennsylvania during (1) the transitional period from conventional to organic production, and (2) following organic certification.

Organic agricultural systems, which rely upon a greater understanding and management of complex, natural biological and biogeochemical processes, may not be accurately evaluated within existing GHG emission tools, which were developed to monitor emissions from conventional systems. This study presents a review and synthesis of recent efforts to improve two well-established GHG decision support tools (COMET-Farm and the Cool Farm Tool) to better represent organic management scenarios.

Join Arianna Bozzolo, Research Director at the Rodale Institute California Organic Center, for a webinar in which she discusses the findings from a multi-year study on the use of diverse cover crop species for weed suppression in organic strawberry and artichoke production systems.

Research has shown that different cover crops can have varying impacts on soil health. This study examined soil health in peanut-cotton plots under conventional and recently transitioned organic management using four cover crop treatments (rye, radish, rye/vetch mix, and rye/vetch/radish mix) and a conventional fallow.

It can be difficult to predict how changes in agricultural management practices may impact an agroecosystem's overall GHG emissions. This study examined the effects of cover crops on soil CO2 and N2O emissions after the first year of organic-transition corn across topographically diverse agricultural landscapes.

Cover crops play a vital role in crop rotations on organic farms along California’s central coast, influencing soil quality, nutrient […]

Creeping perennial weed species, including Canada thistle and field bindweed, are among the most difficult weeds to manage in organic agricultural systems due to their persistence, proliferation, and detrimental impacts to crop yields. Aside from frequent tillage, cover cropping (often with alfalfa) is a common strategy to manage creeping perennial weeds. This study assessed the weed suppressive ability of three highly diverse four-year cropping systems as potential alternatives to intensive tillage and alfalfa cover cropping.

Cucurbits, which include cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, and melons, are susceptible to several diseases, including bacterial wilt and cucurbit yellow vine disease. Mesotunnels, which are modified row cover systems consisting of nylon mesh fabric and hoops, can be effective, organic-compliant methods of excluding pests. This study assesses the effectiveness of several pest and weed management practices (i.e. mesotunnels, furrow cover cropping, and landscape fabric) in reducing insect pest populations, disease incidence, fruit yield, and fruit quality in acorn squash.

Planting a living mulch cover crop between rows may offer organic vegetable farmers several environmental benefits, including improvements to soil health, natural weed prevention, and barriers to runoff/leaching. However, previous studies on the use of living mulch cover crops have yielded mixed results. This study assessed the effects of several weed prevention strategies (cultivation, dead mulch, living mulch cover crops, and mowing) between plastic mulch rows on weed control, soil health, and cash crop quality/yield.

Biochar, a byproduct of the pyrolysis of crop residues or animal waste, has gained significant interest in recent years as a climate-smart soil amendment; however, its effects on soil greenhouse gas emissions are not well understood. This study evaluated the combined effects of organic cotton residue biochar, cover crops, and poultry litter on soil CO2, N2O, and CH4 emissions.

Integrating livestock into organic production systems can provide several benefits, including (1) improving soil health and structure, (2) boosting soil nutrient cycling and availability, (3) increasing crop yield, and (4) enhancing overall farm resiliency. This study assesses the impacts of poultry integration on soil health, crop yield, and weed/cover crop biomass in several vegetable crop rotations.

Cover crop residue retention on the soil surface can suppress weeds and improve both yield and profitability of organic production systems. However, these benefits are influenced by specific cover crop management practices. This study assessed the impacts of establishment date and termination method on total cover crop biomass, weed suppression, soybean crop yield, and profitability.

Join Dr. John Holman and Dr. Augustine Obour, Professors at Kansas State University, for a discussion about the advantages and challenges of grazing cover crops in the Great Plains. Learn about how incorporating cover crops and livestock can increase profitability, how cover crops can help mitigate forage shortages, and how adjust cover cropping strategy depending on soil moisture.

Discover effective conservation practices for your organic Idaho farm with this NRCS guide on cover cropping. Funded by SARE, it aims to enhance soil health and boost productivity for farmers and researchers alike.

The Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV), a four-county area in deep south Texas, is a promising region for organic farming […]