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New technology to help decisions with cover crops

A new website has taken the guesswork out for farmers trying to decide what cover crop to use.
 
The website is called the Cover Crop Decision Tool.
 
Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority Stewardship Manager Kate Monk says it’s free, and while it is American based, it does break down Ontario by county.
 
“If you have compaction, or if you need to fix nutrients, or you need to build organic matter, once you’ve identified that, you can use an online tool that will then enable you to identify what to put in the mix,” said Monk. “And it can identify when you want to plant it and all those sorts of things.”
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No-Till vs Tillage: Why Neighboring Fields Are World Apart

Video: No-Till vs Tillage: Why Neighboring Fields Are World Apart

“No-till means no yield.”

“No-till soils get too hard.”

But here’s the real story — straight from two fields, same soil, same region, totally different outcomes.

Ray Archuleta of Kiss the Ground and Common Ground Film lays it out simply:

Tillage is intrusive.

No-till can compact — but only when it’s missing living roots.

Cover crops are the difference-maker.

In one field:

No-till + covers ? dark soil, aggregates, biology, higher organic matter, fewer weeds.

In the other:

Heavy tillage + no covers ? starving soil, low diversity, more weeds, fragile structure.

The truth about compaction?

Living plants fix it.

Living roots leak carbon, build aggregates, feed microbes, and rebuild structure — something steel never can.

Ready to go deeper into the research behind no-till yields, rotations, and profitability?