Herington, Kan., farmer Shawn Tiffany shares how he and his brother, Shane, are utilizing cover crops for high-quality feed and improving soil health at the 32,000-head Tiffany Cattle Co. The operation is primarily a custom cattle-finishing facility that also includes a 1,200-acre farm where corn, winter wheat, silage sorghum and soybeans are no-tilled. Various cover crops are sometimes harvested as a second crop.

A recent USDA Bulletin discussed updated rules for termination and reporting for cover crops that no-tillers may want to familiarize themselves with.

Four cold-tolerant faba bean germplasm lines are now available for developing pulse or cover crops that can be rotated with wheat and other cereal grains grown in the Pacific Northwest, says the USDA's agricultural research service.

With radishes and other covers in his rotation, Saltcoats, Saskatchewan’s Kevin Elmy is smothering weeds, fixing nutrients, building feedstock and reducing his fertilizer bills.

Early termination, inclusion of legume species and a little patience might be what’s needed to make green manures and cover crops work in the drier areas of the U.S. without dinging yields and profits.