Why Cover Crop??? A Look At Our Soil Improvement.

When spraying some burn down strips, Matt takes a few minutes to show the drastic improvements he's seen in his soils from the use of cover crops. He also explains why using cover crops is superior to just strictly no till.
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[@JamesonWard2434]

We left conventional till about 6 years ago and started strip till. Started cover cropping about 3 years ago. It is unbelievable how much different the soils are now.

[@jimpigson998]

I hear ya. 20 years ago our soil was gray now it’s black and it doesn’t crack. We farm mostly heavy clay.

[@dougclifton7231]

Thanks for sharing. We moved our acreage to no till and cover crops three years ago, and the yields have really increased on our heavy clay soil. Keep educating, I'm definitely paying attention.

[@CateDaugherty]

Matt just to let you know I can’t stop listening to the new intro music Hitting the Streets I love it!

[@reedmartin6614]

All you're videos are good, but these are the best!

[@dewainwoodard4840]

Great video thanks for sharing have a great day and stay safe out there

[@asherlito3801]

I absolutely love your soil videos great job.

[@wry569]

You putting the hammer down!

[@TwoHappyChildrenFarm]

Keep up the good work.

[@gregrhodes8451]

Looks good

[@dtbellamy]

You we’re talking about a litter spreader on the last video. A buddy of mine spread litter and lime for a living and he passed away not long ago and he has a mack r model with a fairly new litter bed and floaters all the way around they are wanting to sell. Really reasonable

[@snafu2375]

I got 2 inchs of rain last year in total.....

[@carrollmccoun110]

That is all good. I understand what you're trying to do. But that is Tennessee. You can not do this in the Mississippi Delta. It's called compaction and Mississippi Gumbo Dirt. It's deep breaking and water control to prevent erosion. Best of luck and good videos.

[@HasanAKhan150]

Very informative like always. Being in a hot arid climate (Pakistan), I plant two crops (all flood irrigated) of corn. One from Jan to May and the other from Jul to Oct. Then we have two or three months of empty fields. I follow other channels too but I learned the most after watching your channel since its beginnings. I finally decided to plant a cover crop during the fallow times. I planted a mix of Brassica, Sesbania, and Daicon. Unfortunately, I couldn't no-till corn into my cover crop. The biggest problem we face here is the lack of zero-till planter tech. But even with the cover crop plowed in, the difference between this crop and the regular crop is night and day just by adding organic matter into the soil. I can't afford to buy the planters you guys use; I'd have to sell half my farm to be able to afford it. Those planters are too high tech anyway and are like sci fi to us. Someday I will find an affordable low tech no-till planter. Thanks for sharing your knowledge we (third world countries) learn a lot from farmers like you.

[@griggsfarmsllc]

Wow I really appreciate your story. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance in helping you achieve your goals. I would like to try to help you out with your planter issues

[@HasanAKhan150]

@@griggsfarmsllc thanks. I will contact you on your email.

[@griggsfarmsllc]

@@HasanAKhan150 sometimes valid emails get sent to my junk folder and I miss them. You can also reach me on Facebook messenger

[@arturowagner4728]

We have the same iasues in Mexico. I grow durum winter wheat, and our soils are heavy clay. I have reduced tillage passes and pretty much forsworn heavy tillage. I use summer weeds as my cover crop to protect my soils from our monsoons and the occasional hurricane that comes our way. I mow them down when they get to three to four feet tall, and repeat when the next batch is ready. I hav started experimenting with sorgum sudan grass. Still waiting on the results. I use manure and gypsum to improve really bad spots, and gypsum alone to deal with excessive weed growth. To make a long story short, my soil is.mellow and almost black, while my neighbors plots are eitherred as a brick, or shiny from the sun reflecting on the sand.

[@kevinlaqua7828]

Matt you have one of the best you tube channels. I’m always learning from your channel. Is it harder on your planter when planting in no till or cover crops than conventional till?

[@griggsfarmsllc]

It is harder to get a planter set up to plant certain crops

[@Coindom65]

We started cover crops last fall much to learn

[@griggsfarmsllc]

It’s not for the faint of heart

[@jimmydykes7961]

Going on my 5th year no till and cover crops,learning everything the hard way,but have stopped erosion probably 90% on my very hilly land.went from red to brown soil,but still have a lot to learn

[@griggsfarmsllc]

🙌

[@todd1808]

👍👍

[@robertreznik9330]

Do you know if you soil organic matter is higher in the top 6 to 9" depth. If so how much carbon is this each year?

[@watomb]

Pretty cool wonder how much better the cover crop might look if you had a stalk puller

[@AerylanLynn]

Pulling up the stalks would break up aggregates and lose organic matter.

[@user-ci2lm6ut4q]

Kya isko barish me lagaya jaa sakta hai, mere yaha bahut zor ki barish hoti hai

[@billsauberlich7337]

I believe you said you have been using cover crops and notill for 10 or 12 years, how much has your organic matter increased in that time,and do you soil sample to see if you have any nutrient stratification?

[@griggsfarmsllc]

Started no tilling late 90’s. Organic matter was around 0.5%. Parked plows for good in 2003. Our latest round of soil tests shows an average of around 3% OM which is phenomenal for West TN. Have not tested nor am I worried about nutrient stratification. The majority of the biological life and roots are in the top few inches so I’m fine with most of my nutrients being there

[@andrewstanfill9305]

Never farmed myself here, missed out by one generation when renting out proved to be a better situation for 70 acres for our farm. I had always heard that discing up the ground was good every 3-4 years, just to turn everything over. Your thoughts? I hate to see a field burned off. We saw a house go up in flames in a driving wind, while a field was being burned off, our volunteer fire department could do nothing at that point. My understanding is the farmer would not pay the homeowner for the loss. That sucks.

[@griggsfarmsllc]

Any kind of tillage is never good for the soil. And a disc is one of the worst tillage instruments you can use as it can create a severe plow pan. Yes high yields can still be achieved with tillage and can be needed in certain instances. But to answer your question, tillage does not make soil better as it will always destroy soil structure, burn organic matter, and disrupt soil borne microorganisms

[@mtpocketswoodenickle2637]

How much rain did you get?... All of it. Considering 20,000 gallons per acre comes into the equation.

[@danielakin7638]

I guess I will agree to disagree everybody has the right to run their farm anyway they want and I actually did try to cover crops for a number of years I saw my yields go down I had massive problems for slugs and disease I think it is like everything else certain people are more suited to do certain things. I am in a conventional Terrell system and will be unless the government puts restrictions on tillage if that happens I guess I will have no choice but just operate on the other side of the coin. I wish you all the best in a safe planting season

[@poppyslater4504]

To many subsidy’s over there Covers the way go ?___ Please no ryegrass But u probably won’t get it All good though

[@poppyslater4504]

U didn’t try covers long enough

[@poppyslater4504]

N z watcher R u resistance will smoke u U think u are you are flying but u are falling quick Covers good, but please no ryegrss😢