Cover Crop Termination
Jan 29, 2025

Over the past few weeks winter has really set in. Although we haven’t seen much snow, it has been quite cold for a few days. The lack of snow cover has allowed us to keep applying fertilizer. That has been a welcome change and will help this spring.
I want to take a little time today to discuss cover crops and make sure we have a plan to terminate them this spring. Over the past five years, cover crops have become very popular in my area. If managed correctly, they can be an effective tool for us.
Cover crops, especially cereal grains, must be terminated in timely manner. A cover crop that gets too big poses a list of problems. They can interfere with planting, wrap up in row cleaners, use your soil moisture, among other issues. Managing these cover crops properly can help alleviate some of these issues and prevent headaches before they start.
As a whole, cover crops are effectively managed by herbicides, as long as they are sprayed when they are small. Having cover crop termination in our agronomy plans ensures this gets done and keeps the planters running. Be sure to discuss cover crop termination with your SFG agronomist when making your 2025 plans.