ELLERBE — The Richmond County Cooperative Extension will offer their first Pop-up Lunch and Learn session at the Sandhills AGInnovation Center Thursday, April 2 on cool season cover crops.
From 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., attendees will have the opportunity to survey the cover crop plot at the center and ask questions of their experts. Burns said they will explain how the different cover crops behave, why some work better than others in certain areas and conditions, when to plant them and how they tie in with cash crops. The session is informal, so those interested can bring their own lunch and pop in and out whenever they’d like. Refreshments will be provided.
Paige Burns, interim county extension director, said they chose to talk about cover crops because of “how good they’re looking at the AGInnovation center.”
“They’re in full peak right now, so it’s a good time to see them,” said Burns.
A cover crop is a plant that is used primarily to slow erosion, improve soil health, enhance water availability, smother weeds, help control pests and diseases, increase biodiversity and bring other benefits to the farm, according to the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education website.
Cover crops are also known to improve crop diversity and attract pollinators, as Davon Goodwin, manager at the Sandhills AGInnovation Center, noticed happening before his eyes while working out on the field Tuesday: a small bee was hovering around a clover.
“(Cover crops) do a multitude of things,” said Goodwin. “Legumes add beneficial nitrogen and ryegrass is good for green or organic matter. We want people to come out and see good cover crop systems.”
Soil in Richmond County is “very, very sandy,” according to Burns, which means the soil is low in organic matter and has low nutrient and water holding properties. Burns said cereal rye is a popular cover crop here.
“A lot of people don’t use cover crops extensively because it costs money and requires pre-planning,” she said. “But it’s also beneficial for those who want to put in the time and money.
“They’re also important to manage some of the extreme weather events that we’ve been experiencing like torrential rains,” added Burns. “Torrential rains can wash soil, but cover crops can prevent washing, mitigate erosion and water can continue to be available for plants a few days down the road.”
On Thursday, Burns, Goodwin and Taylor Williams, agriculture extension agent from Moore County, will show a variety of cover crops one can utilize on their farms (large-scale and small backyard farms). Examples of cover crops include legumes (red clover, crimson clover, vetch, peas and beans), non-legumes (cereals, forage grasses and broadleaf species) and “cocktails” or mixtures, according to the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education website.
“I hope people will be able to get an idea of how cover crops play a role in their production, how they can be utilized and their benefits,” said Burns. “And hopefully we can get more people to utilize them.”
