Organic No-Till Planted Soybean Production
INTRODUCTION
This guide aims to help farmers who are interested in using the rolled cover crop organic no-till soybean system. We start with an overview of soil health and organic management, and then outline the process of growing a cereal rye cover crop, terminating it with a roller-crimper, and no-till planting soybean into the residue. Despite clear benefits, this production system can be challenging, and further research and on-farm trials are still needed. The guidelines provided here are intended to facilitate the successful adoption of rolled cover crop organic no-till soybean production. However, interested farmers are encouraged to work with their local Cornell Cooperative Extension office and other farmers who have been successful with this system in the past.
“I think the rolled no-till soybeans are a good example of a practice that has not been adopted as widely or as quickly as it should have been because it was being pushed mainly as a practice as opposed to it being introduced as a part of a farming system.”
Klass Martens, Martens Farm
Funding:
This work was supported by the New York State Environmental Protection Fund for the New York Soil Health Initiative, administered through the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Contract No. C00178GS-3000000, the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch Project 2016-17-252, Organic Transitions Program (Projects 2014-51106-22080 and 2018-51106-28775), and the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (Project 2020-51300-32183).
Citation:
Ryan, MR, BA Caldwell, K Crowley, JA Liebert, U Menalled, CJ Pelzer, L Pickard, and S Wayman. 2021. Organic No-Till Planted Soybean Production. Sustainable Cropping Systems Lab. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.