He Plants 16 Crops In One Field
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Matt Burkholder plants up to 16 different crops in a single field, not for harvest but to build the soils for future crops. His multi-species cover crops are part of an intensive soil-health improvement process. He drills them on behind wheat and often air seeds cover crop seed into pre-harvest soybeans. In the spring, he plants into standing cover crops before terminating the cover crops with herbicides.
“Cover crops and no-till have raised my soybean yields by 10 to 15 bushels per acre and my wheat by at least 10,” says Burkholder. “I have a clay knob I started farming 12 years ago. Soybean yields on that field have gone from 40 bushels per acre to 55 this year. If it can work on poor quality soils, it works elsewhere too.”
Costs have dropped as well. Burkholder is no longer planting GMO
soybeans, nor is he using seed treatments and fungicides. “I use no insecticides on either soybeans or wheat because I don’t want to kill beneficials,” he adds. “I apply an inoculant and beneficial microbes. They are very effective.”
Planting covers has been a learning experience for Burkholder. He started with just one cover crop and not much guidance. Even the co-ops who sold him the seed couldn’t help. He credits a couple of friends and the staff of Sustain Seed+Soil for encouragement and counsel.
Gradually he began adding more species, especially following soybeans. The mix of 16 species is the most yet, including grasses, brassicas like radish and turnip, peas, clovers, buckwheat and two types of oats.
“I usually like to have at least three types of cover crops in a mix - grasses, brassicas and legumes,” says Burkholder
Along the way, he has made mistakes, like planting too high a rate of clovers that attracted voles. They dug out corn seed, resulting in a less than desirable stand.
“Now it’s my turn to help other farmers in my area,” says Burkholder, who is an advocate for conservation with The Nature Conservancy. “Sometimes it seems like I’m one of the few in the county working on regenerative agriculture. I know other farmers drive by and turn their heads to see what I’m doing.”
Sometimes they stop and ask. He recalls a neighbor asking about the field with the clay knob. “He asked what I was doing,” says Burkholder. “He could see the crop was greener and looked better. I’m glad to take time and answer questions.”
Burkholder has seen the impact of the multi-species cover crops. He points to the different root structures and rooting depths of different species. He notes that they sequester different nutrients, and that benefits the following crop.
“Cover crops save me money, build soil health and are good for the environment,” says Burkholder. “I believe in the system and know it is working. Even when I make a mistake, I will keep working on it.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Matt Burkholder, Allen County, Ohio (ph 567-289-1897; mburkholder@centurylink.net).
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He Plants 16 Crops In One Field CROPS New Crops Matt Burkholder plants up to 16 different crops in a single field not for harvest but to build the soils for future crops His multi-species cover crops are part of an intensive soil-health improvement process He drills them on behind wheat and often air seeds cover crop seed into pre-harvest soybeans In the spring he plants into standing cover crops before terminating the cover crops with herbicides “Cover crops and no-till have raised my soybean yields by 10 to 15 bushels per acre and my wheat by at least 10 ” says Burkholder “I have a clay knob I started farming 12 years ago Soybean yields on that field have gone from 40 bushels per acre to 55 this year If it can work on poor quality soils it works elsewhere too ” Costs have dropped as well Burkholder is no longer planting GMO soybeans nor is he using seed treatments and fungicides “I use no insecticides on either soybeans or wheat because I don’t want to kill beneficials ” he adds “I apply an inoculant and beneficial microbes They are very effective ” Planting covers has been a learning experience for Burkholder He started with just one cover crop and not much guidance Even the co-ops who sold him the seed couldn’t help He credits a couple of friends and the staff of Sustain Seed+Soil for encouragement and counsel Gradually he began adding more species especially following soybeans The mix of 16 species is the most yet including grasses brassicas like radish and turnip peas clovers buckwheat and two types of oats “I usually like to have at least three types of cover crops in a mix - grasses brassicas and legumes ” says Burkholder Along the way he has made mistakes like planting too high a rate of clovers that attracted voles They dug out corn seed resulting in a less than desirable stand “Now it’s my turn to help other farmers in my area ” says Burkholder who is an advocate for conservation with The Nature Conservancy “Sometimes it seems like I’m one of the few in the county working on regenerative agriculture I know other farmers drive by and turn their heads to see what I’m doing ” Sometimes they stop and ask He recalls a neighbor asking about the field with the clay knob “He asked what I was doing ” says Burkholder “He could see the crop was greener and looked better I’m glad to take time and answer questions ” Burkholder has seen the impact of the multi-species cover crops He points to the different root structures and rooting depths of different species He notes that they sequester different nutrients and that benefits the following crop “Cover crops save me money build soil health and are good for the environment ” says Burkholder “I believe in the system and know it is working Even when I make a mistake I will keep working on it ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Matt Burkholder Allen County Ohio ph 567-289-1897; mburkholder@centurylink net
