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See an entertaining video about cover crops on YouTube; Catch details on upcoming Cover Crop Solutions field days in Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

John Vogel, Editor, American Agriculturist

October 24, 2014

1 Min Read

Farmer interest in cover crops is flying higher than unmanned aerial vehicles – ag drones – these days. And one of the nation's first pilots of cover crops has been Pennsylvania Master Farmer Steve Groff of Lancaster County.

This week, Groff, also a partner in Cover Crop Solutions, released an entertaining YouTube video promoting field days coming up in Pennsylvania on October 29 and 30 and at Memphis, Tennessee on November 18 and 19. Groff even donned suspenders and an old-timer's cap. The video is TR rated. But you probably have to be a farmer to sense the humor – and get the message.

You can also register for the events at the end of the clip.

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Lancaster County field day
The "Making Cover Crops Pay" event kicks off at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 29 at the Lancaster DoubleTree Hotel. It's a full evening offering networking with experts, presentations on soil health, cover crop nutrient-holding and making it pay, plus insight from an expert panel.

At 7:30 a.m. Thursday, the day-long program convenes at Groff's Cover Crop Solutions Research Farm at Holtwood. Pre-registration is required for this session.

The day leads off with a look at cover crop yield impact, research plot tours, interseeding into corn at growth stage V-6, nutrient credits, plus extending the season with shorter maturity corn and soybeans. The afternoon includes elective wagon stops at seven cover crop interest areas: water infiltration, soil biology, planting method, cover crop forage, planting into standing cover crops, variety selection and more.

You can locate the full program agenda.

About the Author(s)

John Vogel

Editor, American Agriculturist

For more than 38 years, John Vogel has been a Farm Progress editor writing for farmers from the Dakota prairies to the Eastern shores. Since 1985, he's been the editor of American Agriculturist – successor of three other Northeast magazines.

Raised on a grain and beef farm, he double-majored in Animal Science and Ag Journalism at Iowa State. His passion for helping farmers and farm management skills led to his family farm's first 209-bushel corn yield average in 1989.

John's personal and professional missions are an integral part of American Agriculturist's mission: To anticipate and explore tomorrow's farming needs and encourage positive change to keep family, profit and pride in farming.

John co-founded Pennsylvania Farm Link, a non-profit dedicated to helping young farmers start farming. It was responsible for creating three innovative state-supported low-interest loan programs and two "Farms for the Future" conferences.

His publications have received countless awards, including the 2000 Folio "Gold Award" for editorial excellence, the 2001 and 2008 National Association of Ag Journalists' Mackiewicz Award, several American Agricultural Editors' "Oscars" plus many ag media awards from the New York State Agricultural Society.

Vogel is a three-time winner of the Northeast Farm Communicators' Farm Communicator of the Year award. He's a National 4-H Foundation Distinguished Alumni and an honorary member of Alpha Zeta, and board member of Christian Farmers Outreach.

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