Farmers today are continually looking for ways to maximize yields of corn, soybeans, etc and at the same time minimize costs for their highest profit per acre. As we are seeing land values, fuel costs, fertilizer costs and other input costs rising at significant rates, many famers are looking for economical ways to manage soil fertility, control soil compaction and conserve water.

In the past, farmers used small grains like winter rye or winter wheat as the best cover crop to use. The challenge with this system is these crops are shallow rooted and don't necessarily penetrate the hard pan below the soil surface causing a reduction of yield over the long-term of owning or renting the property. A new alternative, annual ryegrass, has been reviewed at the University of Illinois-Carbondale by Mike Plumer and has proven to have deep soil penetration, improve organic matter , increase water holding capacity, save nitrogen (N) and allow the following crop to increase corn yields by 2 to 10 bushel per acre.  With this new alternative comes additional management as the annual ryegrass can cause problems for growers in the following crop if not managed properly.

Review the following links in how to best manage your annual ryegrass cover crop and maximize your profitability:
first page, second page, third page.

There are other options to conserve nitrogen (N) as well. Legumes are natural nitrogen producers once the plants begins to produce nodules in their root system to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere. Just as annual ryegrass an small grains can provide some N for the following crops, legumes typically produce the highest amount of N once the plant is mature. 

Keep in mind the following when selecting a legume to use:

1. How long will it take the legume to get established before a frost to get the root system established?
2. Is the plant a perennial or annual for my area? (not all legumes can tolerate cold temperatures)
3. What will be my crop rotation for next season? (am I planting corn, wheat, soybean, etc)
4. Can I get someone to plant if I am still harvesting another crop?
5. Will there be any problems in spring if I don't use any herbicides?
6. What will it cost me this fall to plant vs my expected return on investment next spring?

Review the following link for amount of nirtogen (N) credit various legumes can offer. Legume credit link