By Michael Watercutter, Conservation Agronomist Mercer Landmark & American Farmland Trust.

Q: What cover crops are recommended for farmers trying the practices for the first time, and why?

The use of cover crops on your field can unlock the true potential of your soil. Making your first cover crop plan can be intimidating, but starting easy and keeping it simple will help you find success. After corn harvest, I recommend using cereal rye. Cereal rye can help loosen up some surface compaction, make the ground mellow to plant soybeans in, provide some biomass for weed suppression, and conserve moisture through the summer. For wheat fields, planting a mix of oats and radish post-harvest lets you take advantage of the longer growing season for these winter-kill cover crops. Oats have a good

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