Innovative Conservation - Relay Cropping in Iowa
The ultimate goal of the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund is to increase the adoption of on-farm conservation practices that produce positive environmental outcomes along with creating new revenue streams for farmers.
Beyond standard methods, our growers have impressed us with the innovative ways they’re thinking about conservation. We had the chance recently to observe relay cropping of soybeans drilled into standing rye by the Schnell family on their farm in Iowa.
We wanted to share some photos from this exciting day, showcasing how this method works.
Rye was flown on the fields last fall for cover crop and to produce outcomes for SWOF. The picture above shows soybeans drilled on 15” coming up through the standing rye.
The rye was harvested on July 14th using a conventional soybean head on a combine. With some small adjustments to the combine, the rye came out fairly clean and—depending on application method—could be used directly for seeding cover crop this fall.
The combine head is lifted to run just above the beans while harvesting the standing rye.
This photo shows what it looks like after the rye has been harvested and the beans are exposed. The grower noted that he did not apply any herbicide where he relayed cropped his rye and soybeans, ultimately saving about $70 per acre in product.
Joe Winchell, SWOF’s Senior Conservation Agronomist, was on site during relay crop harvest to provide assistance.
It’s a family affair: Three generations of Schnell Farmers share the combine cab during the harvest.
A final pass is made harvesting all the rye.
The rye is unloaded and stored to be used as seed for a cover crop this fall.
All photos by Corey McKinney, SWOF Senior Monitoring And Verification Manager
