Many farmers are working to diversify their crop rotations for the health of their soil. If you’re aiming to stack benefits and hopefully provide more ecological and economic gain for your farm, it may require some innovation. In this session you’ll hear from farmers and researchers about unique aspects of their work that incorporate cover crops using a variety of techniques.

Julianna Tindall is a Master’s student at the University of Guelph working under Dr. Kim Schneider in the Forage and Service Crops Lab. Originally from a mixed dairy goat farm in Uxbridge, Ontario, she completed her undergraduate degree in Crop Science at the University of Guelph. She will present two cover crop grazing projects: one is on-farm with farmer co-operators and the other at the Ontario Beef Research Centre. Her work evaluates the impacts of grazing cover crops with sheep and beef cattle on annual cropland by assessing soil health indicators and subsequent crop yield.

Tom Barrie of Terwidlen Farms in Bowmanville is a long-time soil health champion, using no-till methods long before they were mainstream, and growing clover for forage and seed for 50+ years. He’ll speak to the lessons learned from years of experience growing high quality feed and seed.

Jess Pfisterer focusses on forage seed, field crops and land-based partnerships at Pfisterer Ag in Kenilworth. She grows seed and promotes forage and cover crop options that support soil health, rotation planning, and long-term productivity. She’ll discuss a new approach: growing timothy as a cover crop between two years of soybeans. The concept follows a winter wheat-style window planting an early maturing timothy variety, harvesting it in the spring as soon as it’s ready, and then having options. The appeal is the “double duty” aspect, soil coverage and root benefits, but also a harvestable, marketable forage crop.

Join us to learn more about creative ways to bring cover crops into your operation!

Photo credit: Photo by Mike Rankin, Hay & Forage Grower

This event is offered in partnership with the Farmers for Climate Solutions’ Farm Resilience Mentorship Program (FaRM). Additional resources can be found in the FaRM Learning Hub.