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NATIONAL COVER CROP VARIETY RESEARCH SUPPORTS REGIONAL NEEDS
Jul. 11, 2025
BrownfieldAgNews reports:
The project manager of the National Cover Crop Variety Test says their new report will help farmers source seed best suited toward their region.
University of Missouri's Center for Regenerative Agriculture's Etienne Sutton tells Brownfield, "One of the major constraints that we've learned to expanding the cover crop seed industry is being able to forecast demand."
"We'll be able to tell seed companies, this variety seems to perform really well, we think you should increase your stock or supply," she says.
Sutton says new varieties in development show promise.
"We're seeing between 6 to 10 percent more biomass produced by some of those experimental varieties, significant differences in maturity, forage quality," she explains.
The project included 25 varieties of six different cover crop species planted across 11 states last year. Sutton says this fall, more sites and farmers will be included in the trials.
The research is a collaboration of the American Seed Trade Association and over a dozen partner organizations, including seed companies, land-grant universities, as well as USDA's Agricultural Research Service and Natural Resource Conservation Service.
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