Cover crop research for Northern New York

By Blake Jackson

The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) is funding research to address challenges associated with fall-planted cover crops in the region.

Led by Dr. Virginia Moore and Dr. Julie L. Hansen, the project aims to identify cover crop varieties suitable for Northern New York's colder climate conditions.

“The focus group of regional farmers and agribusinesses expressed a need to identify cover crop varieties that will establish well specifically in northern New York’s colder soil and have increased winter season hardiness after a late fall planting in the region,” said project leader Dr. Virginia Moore, Ph.D., of the Cornell University School of Integrative Plant Science, Ithaca, New York.

The researchers are collecting data from cover crop trials on dairy and vegetable farms in Clinton and Lewis counties, as well as at research farms and the Cornell Cooperative Extension Learning Farm.

Fall-planted cover crops offer various benefits, including soil erosion reduction, nutrient runoff prevention, improved soil health, weed and pest control, and carbon sequestration.

However, Northern New York's short growing season, climate, and wet soil conditions pose challenges for their adoption.

Cereal rye, a common cover crop, is being evaluated in the trials. Researchers are collecting data on soil composition, seedling emergence, winter survival, plant vigor, biomass, and weed pressure. Fall planting dates have ranged from September 25th to November 6th across two years.

Northern New York farmers participating in the trials will provide feedback on results in 2025. Collaborators include Happy Haven Farm, Dyer Farms, Pominville Farms, Cornell University specialists, and Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

Additional research is underway at breeding nurseries to develop cereal rye varieties with improved cold soil emergence and biomass production. The breeding populations are crosses of northern-adapted and southern-adapted cereal rye lines.

The 2022 and 2023 project reports for this cover crop research are publicly accessible at www.nnyagdev.org.

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