Shadow Cropping

Aerial seeding, companion cropping, and living mulches bring cover crop benefits to more rotations.

Cover crops provide a large variety of fertility and soil quality benefits, but corn and soybean growers in traditional one or two crop rotations have trouble finding a window to grow them. However, aerial seeding, interseeding, and companion cropping are innovative methods of establishing a cover crop in the shadows. This issue's cover story, Shadow Cropping, highlights how producers are making room for cover crops. Photo by Mike Raine.