By Jonathan Eisenthal
Drowned out low spots and soupy soil right when he wanted to plant his corn—not once, but for three seasons running—has left Mark Enninga frustrated, and wondering how he could do things better. He turned to cover crops to improve soil structure and water infiltration, but initial attempts were frustrated by early frosts.
Enninga, who farms in Fulda, decided to undertake his own experiment by applying to be part of the 2020 Minnesota Corn Innovation Grant Program.
During the 2020 growing season, Enninga will be using a wide-row system: 44-inch rows, the seeds planted closer together along the row to keep the plant population the same at 35,000 seeds per acre. In the wider inter-row, Enninga will plant a cover crop mix once the corn has reached V4—a healthy head start for the corn, and a much earlier start for the cover crops. He hopes to give the cover crop time to really establish and develop healthy biomass. With any luck it will be a nice forage source for his family’s Black Angus cattle.
When Enninga was researching cover crops he discovered the work of Bob Recker. For 41 years Recker worked as an engineer at John Deere, and when he retired, he launched Cedar Valley Innovation to work with farmers to develop a better way to grow crops.
One focus for Recker is ‘Solar Harvesting,’ the notion that corn can be grown in wide rows to maximize sun exposure. In this environment, corn plants tolerate higher plant populations and increase their yield. One of the key concepts in Recker’s Solar Harvesting system is using cover crops in the inter-row space to prevent weeds from filling the vacuum.
With the Innovation Grant, Enninga can contract with Recker as consultant, to design and support the research plot. There will be six different replications along half-mile rows at Enninga’s farm. The grant also pays for the purchase and planting of the cover crop seed.
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