Cropping Systems

Showing 1-15 of 15 results

Cover Crops for Soil Health Workshop

All session recordings and slide presentations from this three-day professional development workshop are available online. Hosted by Northeast SARE and Delaware State University in March 2016, this event addressed the latest research on the benefits and successful management of cover crops in grain, vegetable and animal production systems.

Cornell Soil Health Assessment

The Cornell soil health assessment was created to help farmers develop appropriate management solutions to build healthy soils. Focusing on soil health helps improve productivity, reduces the need for external inputs, and increases a farm's resilience to extreme weather events.

Successful Farming Practices in the Face of Climate Change

This article was reprinted with permission from Green Energy Times, a periodical that advances the opportunities at the intersection of business, technology and sustainability. When farmers and growers throughout the Northeast go to work, they know they will face unpredictable weather. After all, Mark Twain’s adage, “If you don’t like the weather in New England, […]

A Practical Guide to No-Till and Cover Crops in the Mid-Atlantic

No-till and cover crops are among the most cost effective tools to reverse soil and carbon loss and improve soil health; the economic, agronomic and environmental benefits of these practices are well known within the farming community. Transitioning from conventional farming to no-till, and incorporating the use of cover crops, requires a higher level of […]

New York Cover Crops Decision Tool

This is an online tool to help you quickly narrow the choices of cover crop for your situation. In a few seconds, you will have growing instructions for the cover crop that will do the job you need. Access the Cover Crops Decision Tool now. It is designed for the soil, climate, cropping practices and […]

New Online Tool Helps Farmers Make Cover Crop Decisions

The Northeast Cover Crops Council (NECCC) recently released an online tool designed to support farm decision-making around cover crops. The Cover Crop Decision Support Tool is available at no cost at: http://covercrop.tools/. It includes a Cover Crop Explorer that provides in-depth information on more than 35 cover crop species. It also has a Species Selector […]

Northeast Cover Crop Decision Support Tool

The Northeast Cover Crops Council (NECCC) has created an online tool designed to support farm decision-making around cover crops. The tool includes a Cover Crop Explorer that provides in-depth information on more than 35 cover crop species. It also has a Species Selector that assists users in selecting individual cover crops based on plant hardiness […]

Cover Cropping on Vegetable Farms in Northern New England

This bulletin, authored by Heather Darby and her staff at the University of Vermont Extension Crops and Soils Team, provides basic information on cover crop strategies for vegetable farms based in northern New England. It addresses cover crop benefits and challenges; cover crop selection, seeding option planting dates, termination options; and additional resources. The bulletin […]

Cornell team digs into cover crops as livestock feed

Cornell University agronomist Quirine Ketterings conducted her Northeast SARE Research and Education project to better understand the incorporation of winter cereal cover crops— triticale, winter rye and wheat—into silage corn rotations. This double crop system enables farmers to provide both corn and cover crops as livestock feed. Because growing cover crops as dairy forages means […]

Beyond Black Plastic

This publication explores sustainable, organic mulches such as cover crops and no-till and reduced tillage systems as alternatives to black plastic mulch for weed control. The booklet includes a discussion of the impact of organic mulches on soil quality and fertility, weed control, yields and waste production, and profitability for small to mid-size vegetable operations. 

Native bees and flowering cover crops

While managed colonies of European honey bees are most frequently used for crop pollination, wild or native bees commonly provide the same pollination services for ‘free’ without the costs of renting or maintaining honey bee hives.

Buckwheat Cover Crop Handbook

Buckwheat has been used to suppress weeds on Northeastern farms for 400 years. This handbook outlines how to use buckwheat as an economical weed-control tool, with recommendations based on extensive grower surveys, original research and on-farm trials.

NOFA Handbooks

A series of eight handbooks for new farmers or established producers seeking to transition to organic or improve their current practices. Print only; order from Chelsea Green.