Multispecies Cover Crops

Farmers practicing soil health say the road to soil health is a journey and not a destination, as you are constantly learning and adjusting along the way. This video series, “Cotton & Covers,” follows the soil health journey of three (3) coastal plain cotton producers as they share their stories and experiences to improve the health and productivity of their farms.

Do multispecies cover crops really make a difference and how can I tell? According to Zeb Winslow of Scotland Neck, North Carolina, Sonny Price of Dillon, South Carolina, and Burton Heatwole of Millen, Georgia, the answer is “yes.” In this episode, these farmer mentors discuss how they felt from the seat of their tractor how cover crop blends were changing their soils. Incorporating multispecies cover crop mixes provided a myriad of benefits to their farming operation, from reducing compaction and eliminating winter weeds, to creating a mellow seed bed. This video is the fourth of six (6). Watch the full series today:

Video 1: Introduction
Video 2: The Benefits of Reducing Disturbance
Video 3: Getting Started with Cover Crops
Video 4: Incorporating Multispecies Covers
Video 5: Next Level Diversity
Video 6: Incorporating Livestock

“Cotton & Covers” is a production of the Healthy Soils for Sustainable Cotton project of the Soil Health Institute. Healthy Soils for Sustainable Cotton seeks to expand adoption of soil health management systems on producers’ farms through farmer-focused education and training events delivered by Soil Health Institute scientists, partnering soil health technical specialists and farmer mentors producing cotton using soil health promoting practices. The project aims to improve soil health and expand sustainable cotton production. Additionally, the project seeks to quantify, expand, and verify the productivity and environmental benefits of the soil health management practices used by cotton producers. Healthy Soils for Sustainable Cotton is supported through the generosity of the Wrangler® brand, the VF Corporation Foundation, and the Walmart Foundation.