Determining the best fall-seeded cover crop mixtures for field rejuvenation and cost effectiveness
Coordinator: Serena Black, BC Forage Council
Region: British Columbia
Practices: Rotational grazing
Barrier: There is a lack of data on the use and management of cover crops, their impacts on subsequent crop performance, and the economic costs and returns on investment for this practice.
Description: Fall-seeded cover crop mixtures will be planted either following annual forage crop harvest or as part of initiating a field rejuvenation cycle in a typical B.C. mixed farming rotation with limited irrigation. The trial will compare a single-species cover (e.g. fall rye), more diverse cover crop mixtures (e.g. fall rye with Austrian winter peas), and a control plot with no cover crop seeding. Cover crop establishment, biomass, soil health, forage quality, and subsequent crop performance will be measured, and an economic analysis will be conducted.