Courtesy NRCS
USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Plant Materials Centers (PMCs) in the Southeast are gathering data on different types of cover crops that landowners can use during the summer months. Many of us may think of cover crops as being planted after a cash crop is harvested in the fall. But there are some cash crops harvested in the spring, with others harvested in July or August. And those crops may have months of temperatures that rarely drop below 60 degrees. Thus the fall planted cover crops, which are cool weather plants, are not suited to higher temperatures. The PMCs here in the Southeast have producers that experience these situations, so NRCS began to evaluate cover crops and varieties that grow well in warmer weather. Four years of evaluations were completed in 2018, as various grasses and legumes were tested. Detailed information on the results of the summer cover crop evaluation study can be found by clicking here. Or more information is available at your local NRCS office.