Minnesota (MN) farmers face difficult choices when deciding to prioritize either long-term soil health goals or the immediate benefits of tillage for residue management and seedbed preparation. This decision is particularly challenging for farmers in northwest (NW) and west-central (WC) MN due to the already narrow planting window. Despite the reported soil health benefits, a short growing season makes delays to spring field work risky. Research on cover cropping suggests that early season cover crops can stabilize yields by mitigating excess and limited soil moisture, improving field trafficability, and reducing wind erosion. However, there has been limited research on how implementation of soil health practices will affect crop nutrition, residue decomposition, and weed and disease pressure. Reliable advice on these agronomic outcomes is critically needed by MN farmers interested in adopting reduced-tillage and cover cropping systems. To meet this need, we partnered with six farmers (Scott Olson, Dave Duffield, Jim Guy, Tim Dufault, Paul Dragseth and Glan Hjelle) and two University of Minnesota Research & Outreach Centers (Crookston and Morris) to design 8 replicated, production-scale research and demonstration sites that were sown in Fall 2021. We will use these sites to investigate the effect of different reduced-tillage and cover cropping scenarios on soybean production across MN. This project focuses on collecting data on the broad agronomic implications of reduced tillage and cover cropping and will help to develop research-based information and enact technology transfer to soybean farmers with an interest in adopting soil health practices within WC and NW MN.

This project will address multiple agronomic impacts of planting green (i.e., planting soybeans into a living rye cover crop). This project will meet this goal by achieving the following objectives:
1. Determine optimal combinations of seeding rate and termination timing for planting green in a wheat-soybean, corn silage-soybean, or corn grain-soybean rotation
Cereal rye is a hardy, overwintering cover crop capable of surviving the harsh winters of the Northern Great Plains. The tradeoff for its winter-survivability is that it requires additional attention in the spring to avoid interference with the subsequent cash crop. Because we will be planting green, we cannot use tillage to terminate the rye cover. Instead, we will rely on glyphosate for rye termination. Finding both the optimal seeding rate and the optimal termination timing will be critical to control the rye cover and avoid associated soybean establishment issues in the spring.

2. Quantify the effect of cereal rye on agronomic production impacts such as: a) soybean nutrition, b) soil microbial activity, and c) incidence of soybean disease and weed pressure
a) Cereal rye is often promoted for its ability to scavenge nutrients from the prior year’s cash crop. Following the 2021 drought, there is a high potential that the rye has scavenged excess nutrients from the soil profile. Just prior to cover crop termination, we will sample above-ground cereal rye biomass to assess nutrient content. To determine the timing of nutrient release by the rye cover crop, we will collect soil samples from the top 8 inches of each ROC plot twice during the growing season (4 weeks and 12 weeks following cover crop termination: 2 depths, x 3 reps x 4 treatments). Target nutrients that we will monitor will include nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur. We will also monitor chloride levels in the soil.
b) Soil microbial activity is a key factor in residue decomposition, nitrogen availability, and carbon sequestration potential. These effects will be monitored by measuring potentially mineralizable carbon and organic nitrogen pools in each plot 4 and 12 weeks following cover crop termination. Soil moisture and temperature in each plot will be monitored on a weekly basis. Soil aggregation, a common soil health metric, will be monitored in each plot at the beginning and end of the experiment.
c) Excess nitrates in the soil profile can potentially worsen iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC), a common soybean disease in NW and WC MN. We will monitor incidence and severity of IDC in the different plots, to cross reference with plant-available nitrogen measurements if it is observed. The effects of cover crop treatment on weed species composition and biomass will also be assessed. Specifically, weed species and total above-ground weed biomass from three areas of each plot will be determined 28 days after cover crop termination.

3. Develop educational and outreach material on the nutrient scavenging potential of cereal rye in Minnesota
This work will provide valuable insight into what agronomic impacts farmers can expect to see when integrating cover crops into their rotations. We anticipate that ~200 farmers will learn the benefits and challenges of cold-climate cover cropping from farmers and researchers alike through on-farm field days and the initiation of peer-to-peer support networks with the aim of increasing cover crop acres. Findings will also be shared with >2900 people through UMN Extension’s platforms (e.g., websites, social media, newsletters, podcasts).
Project Methodology: (limit 14,000 char.)
We collaborated with seven farmers and operations staff at two University of Minnesota Research & Outreach Centers (ROCs) in Summer 2021 to design a large-scale, coordinated experiment across university-managed and on-farm research sites. Despite the prolonged 2021 drought, six of our seven farmer collaborators chose to move forward with the experiment and plant cover crop plots in autumn 2021. Post-cover soybean yield and quality will be quantified to demonstrate the benefits and challenges of introducing cover crops into the cold-climate cropping systems. Our long-term goal is for this trial to take place over four years, through two complete cycles of a wheat-soybean, corn silage-soybean or corn grain-soybean rotation. Special considerations for field management will include fall tillage and herbicide options.

This project uses a two-pronged approach to evaluate both practice efficiency and practicality. Plot-scale research will allow us to determine the most effective approaches. On-farm research will test the real-world viability and practicality of these options.

We collaborated with seven farmers and operations staff at two University of Minnesota Research & Outreach Centers (ROCs) in Summer 2021 to design a large-scale, coordinated experiment across university-managed and on-farm research sites. Despite the prolonged 2021 drought, six of our seven farmer collaborators chose to move forward with the experiment and plant cover crop plots in autumn 2021. Post-cover soybean yield and quality will be quantified to demonstrate the benefits and challenges of introducing cover crops into the cold-climate cropping systems. Our long-term goal is for this trial to take place over four years, through two complete cycles of a wheat-soybean, corn silage-soybean or corn grain-soybean rotation. Special considerations for field management will include fall tillage and herbicide options.

This project uses a two-pronged approach to evaluate both practice efficiency and practicality. Plot-scale research will allow us to determine the most effective approaches. On-farm research will test the real-world viability and practicality of these options.

ROC Locations (Crookston and Morris)
We will explore three seeding rates of cereal rye (0, 20, 40 lb/ac), two tillage systems (fall chisel plow; no-till), and three termination timings (1-2 weeks before planting; at planting; 1-2 weeks after planting) with four replicates.

On-Farm Locations
We will evaluate the following four treatments at on-farm sites:
? No cover crop control
? Rye terminated 7-14 days prior to planting
? Rye terminated within 24 hours of planting
? Rye terminated 7-14 days after planting

Each treatment will be replicated three times, for a total of twelve harvested strips. Strips will vary, but be wide enough to allow for one combine pass in soybeans that excludes sprayer track damage.

All Sites
Both rye survival and soybean establishment following rye termination will be evaluated. We will monitor soil fertility and chemical properties including select soil macronutrients, organic matter, pH, and electrical conductivity. Soil health tests will assess biologically-relevant nutrient pools such as potentially mineralizable carbon, water-extractable carbon and nitrogen and aggregate stability. Soil moisture levels will be monitored throughout the year to evaluate moisture uptake by the growing cover crop and/or water retention by crop residue.

Soybean disease, pest pressure, and weed management will also be evaluated. Symptoms of iron deficiency chlorosis will be visually assessed from three areas of each plot using a visual rating scale. Walking a transect through each plot, plants will be visually inspected for disease incidence and severity and insect injury in the lower, middle and upper canopy. The effects of cover crop treatment on weed species composition and biomass will also be assessed. Specifically, weed species and total above-ground weed biomass from three areas of each plot will be determined 28 days after cover crop termination.

Project Team
Angie Peltier - responsible for monitoring incidence of soybean disease, weed and pest pressure and will participate in outreach/tech transfer activities
Jodi DeJong Hughes - overall project manager with responsibility for ensuring implementation experimental design and data collection across locations, and will participate in outreach/tech transfer activities
Lindsay Pease - coordinator for plot establishment and data collection for NWROC site, responsible for collecting, processing, and analyzing soil fertility samples, and coordinating with MN Wheat On-Farm Research Network on NW MN on-farm locations and will participate in outreach/tech transfer activities
Dorian Gatchell - coordinator for plot establishment and data collection for on-farm sites in WC MN, WCROC, and will participate in outreach/tech transfer activities
Melissa Carlson - coordinator for plot establishment and data collection for on-farm sites in NW MN and will participate in outreach/tech transfer activities
Anna Cates - responsible for monitoring soil health metrics including soil microbial activity and soil organic nitrogen and will participate in outreach/tech transfer activities
Project Deliverables: (limit 14,000 char.)
Our results will help farmers manage risk(s) associated with cover crop management. Outreach will focus on the agronomic best practices observed in the trials and fertility implications from cereal rye cover crops. Project findings will be shared with farmers at winter Extension meetings, at summer field days, and through fact sheets, news articles, social media, and on radio, and with the scientific community through society meetings and peer-reviewed publications. Specific examples are outlined below.

Communications:
? Cates, DeJong-Hughes, and Pease are active on Twitter, reaching >4,000 followers, and regularly contribute to the MN Crop News Blog, and UMN Extension podcasts (Gopher Coffee Shop and UMN Nutrient Management), with posts reaching 300-3000 viewers in 2021.
? Peltier manages the Cropping Issues in Northwest Minnesota digital newsletter and mailing list, reaching more than 700 people in the region with each post.
? Prairie Grains Magazine (18,000 copies): Each year, on-farm research network (OFRN) trial results are printed in an article in Prairie Grains magazine and delivered throughout Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana
? OFRN Annual Report (800 copies): Trial data are summarized in a stand-alone report booklet distributed to producers at the On-Farm Research Summit and Prairie Grains Conference, Small Grains Update meetings in northwest MN, the Best of the Best in Wheat and Soybean Research meetings in Grand Forks, ND and Moorhead, MN, and online at http://smallgrains.org/farm-research-network/ and in the SmallGrains.org Research Database at https://smallgrains.org/research-database/
? Minnesota Wheat Research Review Book (1,200 copies): Distributed at the Prairie Grains Conference, Small Grains Update meetings, Best of the Best Conferences, and to county extension offices
Farmer-focused Outreach Events:
? On-Farm Research Summit (100 to 150 producers): Project and results will be discussed during one four-hour summit.
? NWROC Crops & Soils Field Day
? On-Farm Research Network Field Day

This project was designed alongside Minnesota soybean growers to provide information of value to a considerable cross-section of Minnesota soybean producers, whether in rotation with corn or wheat. The overarching goal of this project is to reduce the personal risk that growers would encounter when first adding management practices associated with cover crop adoption (ex. establishing a cereal rye cover, planting soybean into a still-living cover and terminating the rye cover crop). This project will also complement cover crops trials investigating weed management potential established by Dr. Debalin Sarangi and Liz Stahl in southern MN by expanding into more northern MN regions.
Many large companies are looking for a public relations “win” on the carbon market. They hope to offset the carbon footprint of doing business by paying farmers to adopt conservation practices that have the potential to sequester carbon dioxide. However, many important market parameters like risk, price, and verification of practices haven’t been settled. This project will show how much biomass and therefore carbon will be added to MN cropping systems with cover crops. This information can help companies, markets and farmers document just how much carbon can be sequestered during the short Northern Great Plains growing season, leading to reliable, realistic carbon payments for Minnesota soybean farmers.
Several local area farmers that have already planted a cereal rye cover crop in fall 2021 to gain or increase experience cover cropping. These local cooperators are key to project success as well as long-term regional cover crop adoption. Soybean farmers that can be considered by their peers to be regional cover cropping experts will be a valuable resource to other Minnesota soybean farmers. Knowing that these local experts were able to make cover cropping work while learning new management systems and adapting to annual weather will encourage other farmers that they too are likely to find success when adding a cover crop to their cropping system.

Updated August 31, 2022:
Please see attached progress report PDF

View uploaded report

Updated November 17, 2022:
Please find the attached summary of the cover crop biomass, soybean stand count, yield, moisture and test weight. Research results from the University of Minnesota Research and Outreach Centers in Crookston and Morris has not yet been analyzed.

View uploaded report

Updated February 24, 2023:

View uploaded report

Updated June 14, 2023:

View uploaded report

This project was designed alongside Minnesota soybean growers to provide information of value to a considerable cross-section of Minnesota soybean producers, whether in rotation with corn or wheat. The overarching goal of this project is to reduce the personal risk that growers would encounter when first adding management practices associated with cover crop adoption (ex. establishing a cereal rye cover, planting soybean into a still-living cover and terminating the rye cover crop). This project will also complement cover crops trials investigating weed management potential established by Dr. Debalin Sarangi and Liz Stahl in southern MN by expanding into more northern MN regions.
Many large companies are looking for a public relations “win” on the carbon market. They hope to offset the carbon footprint of doing business by paying farmers to adopt conservation practices that have the potential to sequester carbon dioxide. However, many important market parameters like risk, price, and verification of practices haven’t been settled. This project will show how much biomass and therefore carbon will be added to MN cropping systems with cover crops. This information can help companies, markets and farmers document just how much carbon can be sequestered during the short Northern Great Plains growing season, leading to reliable, realistic carbon payments for Minnesota soybean farmers.
Several local area farmers that have already planted a cereal rye cover crop in fall 2021 to gain or increase experience cover cropping. These local cooperators are key to project success as well as long-term regional cover crop adoption. Soybean farmers that can be considered by their peers to be regional cover cropping experts will be a valuable resource to other Minnesota soybean farmers. Knowing that these local experts were able to make cover cropping work while learning new management systems and adapting to annual weather will encourage other farmers that they too are likely to find success when adding a cover crop to their cropping system.