Cover Crops
The roots of cover crops help hold the soil in place and thus provide resilience to soil erosion during heavy wind or rainfall events. Some cover crops have deep and extensive root systems that move carbon deep into the soil profile, and can break up compacted soil layers to improve infiltration and drainage.
Download the 18″x12″ cover crop roots poster to use for your educational needs.
Download individual cover crop root photos for educational purposes from Flickr.
Cornell Cover Crop Seeding Chart for Upstate NY
The Cornell Cover Crop Seeding Chart for Upstate NY is a streamlined tool designed to assist farmers and planners in selecting appropriate cover crop species based on planting season, seeding rate, depth, and cost. It categorizes species by type (grasses, legumes, brassicas) and provides guidance on optimal planting windows, reliability, and broadcast versus drilled seeding rates. Adapted from the NRCS Cover Crop Guide, this chart offers a user-friendly reference for optimizing cover crop establishment in Upstate New York..
NRCS-NY Cover Crop Mixture Seed Rate Calculator
The NRCS-NY Cover Crop Mixture Seed Rate Calculator is a comprehensive tool designed to help farmers and planners calculate seeding rates for cover crop mixes based on goals, competitive characteristics, and planting methods. It includes detailed columns for species grouping, seeding method adjustments, and cost planning, providing flexible, data-driven support for optimizing cover crop use. Version from March 2018.
Videos: Cropping Systems & Cover Crops
Sustainable Cropping Systems Lab
The Cornell Sustainable Cropping Systems Lab conducts research on cover crop interseeding, perennial grains, forage intercropping, and more.
Visit website.
Cover Crop Guide for New York Vegetable Growers
This is an online tool to help you quickly narrow the choices of cover crop for your situation. Prof. Thomas Björkman in the Horticulture Section at Cornell University developed this resource.
Visit website.
Northeast Cover Crop Council
The Northeast Cover Crop Council works to foster collaboration across the Northeast, provide resources, and develop web-based cover crop decision support tools.