UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Cover crops planted in rotation with main crops can help farmers reduce erosion and replenish nutrients into the soil. Visitors to this year’s Ag Progress Days, Aug. 12-14, can learn more about these benefits of cover crops at an expanded cover crops demonstration plot.
The plot is located beside the J.D. Harrington Crops, Soils and Conservation Building.
“We’re also starting to consider cover crops more for their potential use in forage production,” said Marvin Hall, professor of forage management and coordinator of the Crops, Soils and Conservation Area at Ag Progress Days.
What’s in the plot
According to Hall, cover crop varieties growing in the plot include annual ryegrass; a mix of tillage radish, sunhemp and sorghum-sudangrass; a mix of tillage radish and triticale; a mix of tillage radish and oats; phacelia; sunhemp; a mix of annual ryegrass, tillage radish and crimson clover; hairy vetch; sorghum sudangrass; pearl millet; fava bean; Austrian pea; and a mix of crimson clover and ryegrass.
Innovation in action
An interseeder developed by Penn State will demonstrate one method used to plant cover crops.
Hall said an interseeder can plant cover crops in fields where established crops already are growing.
A planter with a built-in roller-crimper, manufactured by innovator Charles Martin, also will be featured.
“This is an innovation in agricultural machinery,” Hall said. “Both pieces of equipment help integrate cover cropping into our cropping systems. It is good for soil quality and soil conservation.”
More to see
The two-year-old J.D. Harrington Building, named for the late Joseph D. Harrington, professor emeritus of agronomy and former Ag Progress Days manager, is home to several exhibits and activities highlighting conservation and crops management.
The structure is located at Harrington Lane and the end of East 5th Street.
The building includes a wide variety of topics — from crops and animals to forest management. It will house exhibits staffed by organizations related to soil and crop management, as well as aspects of conservation such as forestry, water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and wildlife.
No-till features
Hall said there will be several attractions in the area, including the “no-till corral,” showcasing equipment used in no-till agriculture, a butterfly garden, live animals and plots of warm-season grasses and forages.
“No-till agriculture continues to gain new ground in Pennsylvania,” Hall said. “Farming without tillage saves the soil, improves soil quality and reduces energy inputs.”
Bring hay samples
Hay producers can bring samples to be evaluated during the Hay Show. These samples must have been grown in Pennsylvania in 2014 by the exhibitor.
Entries close at 10 a.m. on Aug. 12, but exhibitors are encouraged to bring their samples Aug. 11 before the show begins.
Sustainability, pollinators
Sustainable agriculture also will be represented, and visitors can meet with the experts from Penn State, the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture and Pennsylvania Certified Organic and have questions answered.
Information on composting, biofuels, watering systems, plants that attract pollinators and deer-management strategies also will be available.
The corn maze also will return to the Crops, Soils and Conservation area. As always, it is stroller and wheel-chair accessible.
Learn more on tours
Crop and conservation topics also will be featured in other areas of the Ag Progress Days site. Tours focused on managing deer and other wildlife as part of a Quality Deer Management system will leave daily at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., with an additional tour at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
A tour on water quality and riparian buffers will leave daily at 11:30 a.m.
All tours will leave from the corn crib at the top of Main Street.
Ag Progress Days is held at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs, nine miles southwest of State College on Route 45.
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