Episode 115: Covering Ground: How Cover Crops Can Change Your Farm with Brian Magarin

[@turnindirtandwrenches]

Thank you John for doing these podcasts! You have inspired me to make big changes on my farm. Last year I grew one acre of open pollinated corn no tilled into white clover and native preannuals. This year I'll have 60 acres of it! The ROI is amazing! And I have much more time to spend with my family because I'm not cultivating all the time. Thanks again for making these podcasts!

[@richardheinen1126]

Great podcast!

[@brodiesmith4173]

Hello, Thank you for all the information you are making more readily available! I have a question regarding covercropping. While I understand that it is a technique used in between main crops. Therefore, letting covercrops go to seed, or using perennials is not typically the intent; however, it seems to me that purchasing seed every year, or whenever someone's covercrop cycle may be, would get expensive. I also understand that the money spent would be returned either in a monetary covercrop, or in nutrients, microorganisms, or mineral availability for future seasons; however I am curious if there is anyone who intentionally lets their covercrops re-seed, while still planting and harvesting a main crop in the same area. Is this done? How much of a decrease in the main crop would be expected (this would definitely be variable based upon a number of variables)?

[@4given-c5h]

Wow. Great discussion thanks. Always good to hear of another great success story. Especially enjoyed hearing of your success and tools/methods using vetch. Used it once but now will be using it a lot more!

[@bohio2449]

Any pictures of the double crimp design

[@C.Hawkshaw]

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a Regen Ag college in the U.S.?

[@ryecarlson7867]

the real crimper killer is rocks and uneven ground

[@michelbisson6645]

no politicians, politics is poison all must come from grass root and solidatity among people...We the people...the american way...

[@C.Hawkshaw]

yeah the politicians aren’t REALLY interested, and they’re lobbied by big Ag. So ignore them l agree and just get to it!

[@marlan5470]

Hello! I have a question. It's not directly related to the subject here, but I'm asking anyway: Even if a farmer is successful in growing grain (of any kind) in the most regenerative way, without any chemicals, non-GMO, etc...How is it still possible to not contaminate the crop at the grain elevator/silo that the farmer sells it to, when those storage facilities are reliant on the pesticides/chemicals for preservation? How can reliance on those chemicals be minimized, if not entirely eliminated, to keep the food chemical free at the point of storage and distribution? Is the clean crop mixed with the crops of other farmers who do not grow regeneratively/chem free? How does it work? Thank you

[@projectmalus]

I'm not from AEA but I think the chemicals like glyphosate are a problem in the other places like in the groundwater or soil, not in the harvested crop. Or like the neonics affect the pollinators, or workers using these products get cancer etc. If the food grown is less healthy because the soil is made poor then this might affect one directly. I've noticed in the last few years that produce gets moldy very quickly. Also, if processed food in general is poor and these poisons are to facilitate that system then it's time for a change.

[@marlan5470]

@@projectmalus Ha! I bought a pumpkin last September and I still have it on display. It's not showing any signs of rotting and it's late April now.

[@marlan5470]

@@projectmalus My understanding is, usually seeds are dipped in chemicals, the ground is treated with chemicals and mechanical disturbance, then the crop is sprayed at different times of growth, then it's taken to the silo and it gets treated there too. I don't know exactly how warehousing is after distribution from the silo but I assume there's chemicals at the warehouses too. So... how to minimize the whole chemical shower, even if the crop is planted/harvested with the least ecological damage?

[@projectmalus]

@@marlan5470 I believe those chemicals have a life span with respect to growing crops, and the harvest and spraying etc are arranged around this. Not sure how they would treat silos full of material since it would be hard to mix and expensive at that stage, so that comes in at the factory along with the plastic packaging. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a proponent of those chemicals, they're a hammer where subtlety is needed.

[@marlan5470]

@@projectmalus Are you meaning efficiency for what they're supposed to do or how long they stay in the soil and water? Because the chemicals stick around for a very long time. Glyphosate is a chelator, DDT stays a very long time. I don't think we're out of danger yet when it comes to DDT, and it's been a few years.