About Cover Crops

“Cover Crops as a BMP refers to the use of grasses, legumes or forbs planted to provide seasonal soil cover on cropland when the soil would otherwise be bare. In Minnesota, the cover crop is commonly rye, although oats, barley, alfalfa, buckwheat and hairy vetch are also used. The short growing season in Minnesota limits the use of cover crops although use is expanding as farmers are seeing the environmental and financial benefits of the practice.”

The livestock industry has undergone substantial changes in the past few decades. The poultry, swine, and dairy industries in particular have become increasingly concentrated. This has resulted in fewer, but larger, livestock operations throughout the country. As a result, there has been a growing concern about odor emissions from livestock operations and potential decreased water quality caused by nutrient runoff from livestock manure.

Phosphorus is a somewhat unique pollutant in that it is an essential element, has low solubility, and is not toxic itself, but may have detrimental effects on water quality at quite low concentrations. There is considerable concern about P being lost from soils and transported to nearby streams and lakes. Several chemical properties of soil P have important implications for the potential loss of P to surface water.