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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #299358
Title: Roadmap to increased cover crop adoption

Author
item STOCKWELL, RYAN - National Wildlife Foundation
item BAAS, DEAN - Michigan State University
item BITAN, ELIAV - National Wildlife Foundation
item BLACKMER, TRACY - Iowa Soybean Association
item BRYANT, LARA - National Wildlife Foundation
item GURWICK, NOEL - Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
item Mirsky, Steven
item MITCHEL, PAUL - University Of Wisconsin
item SIBBING, JULIE - National Wildlife Foundation
item SUNDERMEIER, ALAN - The Ohio State University
item WIDMAN, NORM - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, USDA)
item BALOUN, DON - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, USDA)
item FISHER, BARRY - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, USDA)

Submitted to: Weed Technology
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/30/2013
Publication Date: 11/1/2013
Citation: Stockwell, R., Baas, D., Bitan, E., Blackmer, T., Bryant, L., Gurwick, N., Mirsky, S.B., Mitchel, P., Sibbing, J., Sundermeier, A., Widman, N., Baloun, D., Fisher, B. 2013. Roadmap to increased cover crop adoption. Weed Technology. 1:1-12.

Interpretive Summary: Cover crops are increasingly utilized by farmers and promoted by agronomists for the multiple benefits they contribute to soil and crop management systems. Yet, only a small percentage of cropland is planted to cover crops. In June of 2012, the National Wildlife Federation brought together 36 of the leading experts in cover crops in the Midwest and Great Plains for a meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. These farmers, scientists, extension specialists, and policy experts met for two days to discuss what they saw as the biggest barriers to expanded cover crop adoption and to lay out a “Roadmap” for addressing these barriers. The “roadmap” we are publishing here, is meant to provide a framework for how to achieve the common vision of the panel, 100 million acres of cover crops in the US by 2025. This framework provides a necessary list of criteria for how to increase grower adoption for policy makers, researchers, regulatory agencies, and other agricultural professionals. Furthermore, it provides an approach for the research community on how to coordinate their research and fill in the knowledge gaps on cover crop use, management, and integration into cropping systems.

Technical Abstract: Cover crops are increasingly utilized by farmers and promoted by agronomists for the multiple benefits they contribute to soil and crop management systems. Yet, only a small percentage of cropland is planted to cover crops. In June of 2012, the National Wildlife Federation brought together 36 of the leading experts in cover crops in the Midwest and Great Plains for a meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota (see appendix for list of participants). These farmers, scientists, extension specialists, and policy experts met for two days to discuss what they saw as the biggest barriers to expanded cover crop adoption and to lay out a “Roadmap” for addressing these barriers. The “roadmap” we are publishing here, is meant to provide a framework to achieve the common vision of the panel of 100 million acres of cover crops, in the US, by 2025.