Cover Crop Biomass Calculator available for Nebraska

Maximizing cover crop growth between fall harvest and spring planting remains a challenge for corn and soybean producers in Nebraska.

In a 2017 survey, producers in the state reported their largest challenge to be planting and establishment of cover crops before winter.

Nationally, many report that this winter window of time is too limited to achieve enough cover crop growth to justify the associated costs and labor. Additionally, given the wide range of weather conditions experienced in the state during the fall, winter and spring, we cannot expect to see the same cover crop growth from year to year.

A new predictive tool developed by a team at University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Department of Agronomy & Horticulture estimates cover crop growth with different planting and termination times across the state of Nebraska. The predictions are based on a model called the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator, that was carefully set up to represent the growth of cereal rye at different planting timings in Nebraska soils and climates (this work was published in Agronomy Journal in 2020).

The goal of the biomass calculator is to provide producers, researchers and other agriculture professionals with realistic, data-driven predictions to address the challenges presented in the winter growing period. The tool can help answer questions such as “how would biomass vary if I planted earlier or terminated later?” or “how much will cover crop growth change from year to year depending on weather conditions?” This can help you decide what planting windows might be best suited for your environment and adjust management to achieve cover crop biomass goals.

This project was a collaboration of researchers from UNL’s Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, Nebraska farmers, and UNL’s Holland Computing Center.

View the new biomass calculator at https://cropwatch.unl.edu/cover-crop-biomass-calculator#.