Farms.com Home   News

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

Trending Video

One of the Most Important Passes on Our Corn Crop

Video: One of the Most Important Passes on Our Corn Crop


All of our crops are finally in the ground, and now we're making one of the most important passes of the season. In this video, we side-dress our corn with nitrogen and sulfur using a 16-row applicator, placing the nutrients right between the rows before the crop enters its rapid growth stage. This fertilizer will help feed the corn through the summer as it takes off and pushes toward harvest.