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Oats as a Cover Crop

Oats as a Cover Crop

By Mark Licht

Type: cool season spring annual grass

Pros: good fit for prevent plant acres and for use ahead of corn production; moderate potential to scavenge nutrients, suppress weeds, improve soil health, prevent erosion

Overwintering potential: no

Planting date: late August through October

Ideal Seeding depth: 0.5” to 1.0” – rainfall/soil moisture needed to get good establishment

Seeding rate: drilled = 60 – 75 pounds per acre; overseeded = 80 – 100 pounds per acre

* based on typical use timing in a corn and soybean cropping system.

Source : iastate.edu

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From Dry to Thrive: Forage Fixes for Future Fortitude

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Presented by Christine O'Reilly, Forage & Grazing Specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA).

Prolonged dry weather impacted many regions of Ontario in 2025. With the growing season behind us, how can livestock farmers set their forage crops up for success next year? This session covers the short-term agronomy to bounce back quickly, as well as exploring options for building drought resilience into forage systems for the future.

The purpose of the Forage Focus conference is to bring fresh ideas and new research results to Ontario forage producers across the ruminant livestock and commercial hay sectors