Cover Crop Connection: No-Tillers Try Planter-Mounted Roller-Crimper

Today we’re highlighting another on-farm trial from North Jersey RC&D. Longtime no-tillers Robert and R.J. Fulper used a planter-mounted roller-crimper for the first time to terminate their covers while planting green.

“The cover crops, when you plant through them, they lay down, they form a blanket, and it protects the soil and protects evaporation through the season. This year, with the dry weather, our crops did better than we expected they would’ve done."  

– Robert Fulper, no-tiller, West Amwell, NJ  

“I had a little damage crimping the beans, but it turns out in the end the yields were fairly even again. With the drought, maybe it’s because there was that extra thatch that kept the soybeans growing a little longer. If the yield is even every year, and it was all the same, I would still pick the cover crop and planting green because you’re going to get the long-term benefits out of it.”  

– R.J. Fulper, no-tiller, West Amwell, NJ  

 Building long-term soil health is what’s all about for the Fulpers. They’ve been no-tilling since the 1970s.

Watch the full version of this episode of Conservation Ag Update.