GRASSES
Elbon Cereal Rye
Elbon Cereal Rye was developed by the Noble Foundation in Oklahoma and has a great combination of winter hardiness and fast grwoth. Elbon has a shorter dormancy period than northern cereal rye and will give more fall growth as well as earlier spring growth. Excellent as a forage, it is also on of the best cover crops for inhibiting weeds and protecting soil from erosion.
BMR84 Grazing Corn
BMR84 Grazing Corn is a short season BMR corn designed specifically for grazing. Extremely palatable and digestible for cattle, this corn is one of the first species to be eaten in a cover crop mix.
Fridge Triticale
Fridge Triticale is a hybrid cross of cereal rye and duram wheat. Fast growing, excellent winter-hardiness, high protein content, and beardless (awnletted) head make Fridge one of the best cover crops for grazing, haying or silage. Tritcale will produce higher tonnage and quality feed than rye but will be 2-3 weeks later maturing than Elbon rye
legumes
Fixation Balansa Clover
This type of clover can be used much like crimson clover with the added bonus of increased cold tolerance and biomass production. A fast growing annual clover, Fixation Valansa out competes weeds and can be cut for hay or grazed to produce over 20% CP, high digestibility and extremely palatable forage. This species is better suited for heavy clay or wetter soils than many other legume species. The small seed size also makes this a very economical legume option.
Morton Winter Lentil
A cool season winter annual that can be used in many fall mixes. Morton winter lentils are a bit more winter hardy than winter peas but not as winter hardy as hairy vetch. Winter lentils have no hard dormant seed and are much easier to terminate in the spring than hairy vetch. Winter lentils have more biomass potential than spring planted lentils. Excellent quality forage is produced and is a great companion crop with winter rye or triticale.
AC Green Fix Chickling Vetch
This cool season is one of the few species that has been specifically bred for N fixation! With the potential to produce over 100# N/A in just 10 weeks, this species wastes no time getting the job done. The versatility and resiliencey of this species enables it to withstand drought, pest and disease to provide a consistent product. Utilize chickling vetch in early spring or early fall plantings for N fixation or as highly nutritious feed source but be sure and graze or hay prior to seed pod filling. Green Cover Seed is the leading grower and distributor of AC Greenfix for the United States.
BRASSICAS
Mustard - Broadleaf
Broadleaf Mustard is known for its palatability and is often grown as mustard greens. Its quick growth and broad leaf make it an excellent weed suppressor. Broadleaf mustard is the latest maturing variety, reducing the chance of it going to seed. Mustards tend to have a very thick fibrous taproot which is substantially different than many other brassica species.
African Cabbage
African Cabbage offers a tall and fast growing brassica that can be successfully be grown with an array of warm season mixtures. Unlike other brassicas, African Cabbage will remain erect and retain its leaves after dying from cold weather which makes it a very effective snow catch cover crop. The durable residue and root structure also will allow the moisture from the captured snow to infiltrate and build moisture in the soil profile.
Impact Forage Collards
Impact™ Forage Collards are highly nutritious and digestible for livestock and are slow to bolt and flower when spring planted, making them a good choice for late spring and early summer grazing. They have also exhibited excellent ability to regrow after grazing - even under drought conditions.
Other Broadleaves
Sugar Beet
Sugar beets are a broadleaf cover crop that can offer your operation another outstanding deep rooting crop with some frost tolerance. Sub-soiling, thick tap root fractures hardpans and the majority of the root development is below the surface. Beets have a higher sugar content and are preferential grazed by wildlife and cattle when grazed early enough have shown shown outstanding regrowth.
Safflower
Safflower is an annual, warm season broadleaf historically grown throughout the great plains due to its suitability to semi-arid regions. Safflower can provide excellent forage in young growth stages but the leaves can become very prickly with maturity. What really sets safflower apart from all other species is its exceptionally deep taproot which has been observed to reach depths of 8-10 ft, in ideal conditions. This deep taproot can break hard pans, encouraging water and air movement into the soil profile, as well as scavange nutrients from depths unavailable to most agronomic crops. Farmers growing safflower commonly experience low pest pressure and notice an increase in beneficial organisms such as spiders, ladybugs and lacewings.
Buckwheat
Buckwheat is a fast establishing warm season crop that can be utilized in a wide array of mixtures to suppress weeds by getting the soil covered quickly. If you need a workhorse to attract beneficial insects and pollinators, buckwheat fills this role exceptionally well. Rapid flowering and seed set provide a valuable source of food for wildlife. Buckwheat is also very valuable as a phosphorus source as its root exudates can extract phosphorus from the oil that is not available to many other crops. When cycled, this phosphorus is then available for the next crop.
