Question: What herbicides do you use when interseeding into corn? 

We use a residual on the row, and depending on the year, we'll broadcast herbicide at the same time we're planting. In a perfect year, the goal is in-row roller crimping at the same time as interseeding or shortly after. But it depends on the year, and every year is different. For residual, I use acetochlor or metolachlor or something like that so I don't have to worry about hurting the crop. When interseeding, I keep it pretty simple and generally use Roundup or Liberty. For non-GMO corn, Accent is a pretty good option. But I'm always making decisions almost on a field-by-field case.

Editor's Note: Loran Steinlage addresses more cover crop questions in this Ask the Operator webinar.

“Ask the Operator” allows farmers like yourself to ask questions of our 2023 Conservation Ag Operator Fellow, Loran Steinlage. The West Union, Iowa, no-tiller makes an ongoing commitment to innovating on his own farm and going above and beyond to share his no-till knowledge with others. Read through past information in our content archive and submit your own questions for our Fellow to answer. Click here if you are having trouble viewing the question submission form.