Buy a subscription

Home Contact Sitemap login Checkout

Farming Smarter

Farming Smarter
  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • Who We Are
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
    • Contact Us
  • What We Do
    • What We Do
    • Agronomy Research
    • Commercial Innovation
    • Field Tested
    • Knowledge & Network
  • What We Offer
    • What We Offer
    • Sponsorship Packages
    • Events
    • Research Projects
      • Research Projects
      • Agronomy Research Projects
      • Field Tested Projects
      • Commercial Innovation Projects
    • Subscriptions
      • Subscriptions
      • FS Agronomy Subscription
      • FS Digital Subscription
    • Smart Partner Program
    • Speakers
  • Get Involved
    • Get Involved
    • Jobs
    • Sponsorship
    • I want to help!
    • With On-farm Research
    • With Product Testing
    • With Small Plot Research
    • Internship Opportunities
    • Volunteer!
    • Support Research!
  • Learning Resources
    • Learning Resources
    • Conservation Agronomy
    • Magazine
    • Online Classroom (CEU)
    • News Articles
    • Videos
    • Publications & Reports
      • Publications & Reports
      • Published Papers
      • Research Reports
    • Podcasts
    • 360 Videos
Print This Page

It's a Cover Up (Crop)!

Friday, August 6, 2021

Cover crops combat soil erosion while improving soil quality.

Use of cover crops has been increasing throughout the Prairies, but little is known about their benefits & detriments.

A Farming Smarter project is investigating how to incorporate cover crops in the fall season. Our strategy is to implement them within crop rotations.

We're using a variety of crops such as canola, peas, durum, and spring wheat. This week, we will harvest the durum plots to make way for radish plots!

Our peas have been harvested; we will plant winter peas and wild oats in their place.

The canola & spring wheat are almost ready for harvest. Once harvested, we'll be planting lentils in place of our canola and red clovers to replace the spring wheat.

"There was trouble establishing some of these cover crops due to moisture-limited conditions earlier this year," said Dr. Gurbir Dhillon, Farming Smarter Research Scientist. "This year's heat will provide us with valuable data into how cover crops establish & perform in these conditions."

This project compares the cover crop rotations with plots without cover crops. The study, led by Dr. Yvonne Lawley at the University of Manitoba, looks at the use of cover crops on the prairies.

Our Lethbridge cover crop trial is one of five sites. The study has two in Saskatchewan and two in Manitoba. By the end of this project, we hope to know if cover crops can reliably grow across the prairies in a variety of growing environments and windows. Additionally, we would like to know if crops grown in rotation with and without cover crops had any difference in yield with identical inputs.

If you would like to learn more about the cover crop project, check out:

Our Cover Crop Project Page

Dr. Gurbir Dhillon's Plot Hop Presentation

Farming Smarter

211034 Hwy 512, Lethbridge County, AB
T1J 5N9 Canada

Quick Links

Who We Are

What We Do

What We Offer

Get Involved

Learning Resources

More

Staff Directory

Contact

Copyright © Farming Smarter 2023. All rights reserved | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions