Introductory/Overview

Native Warm-Season Grass Planning Budget

This MU Extension budget planning tool can help farmers estimate costs and returns of establishing native warm-season grass forage species. This resource includes an overview of how to use the tool over multiple years and an Excel sheet that you can download and use to plan.

Multifunctional Agroforestry with Dr. Sarah Lovell

In this episode of the Field, Lab, Earth podcast from the American Society of Agronomy, MU’s Dr. Sarah Lovell discusses the various uses and forms of agroforestry, how agroforestry can benefit both farmers and their surrounding communities, and some tips for implementing agroforestry at scale. Tune in to learn: What are the main functions...

Midwest Cover Crop Training Modules

These 11 training modules on cover crop selection, management, economics, and related topics are a resource for farm advisors and educators.  Each module consists of a PowerPoint slide set with accompanying instructor notes for each slide.  They were created as part of a project supported by the Walton Family Foundation.  The modules have been...

Managing Warm-Season Grass Pastures

Native warm-season grasses have multiple benefits to soil health and for cattle production. This Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) resource provides guidance for planting legumes with native grass, haying, maintenance burning, and rotational grazing.

Missouri Prairie Foundation: Prairie Strips

This Missouri Prairie Foundation’s resource on explains the benefits of prairie strips and offers resources on how to establish them on your land, including how the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) can support adoption.

2021 Conference videos – Missouri State Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health

Watch video recordings of this virtual conference, held December 14th and 15th, 2021. Sessions include: Welcome and opening remarks with Scott Edwards, MO NRCS State Conservationist Farmer Panel 1: Farmer experiences with cover crops in Missouri –with Dr. Rob Myers and producers Johnny Hunter, Kate Lambert, Liz Graznak and Cecil Harness Boosting soil health...

CREATING INVITING POLLINATOR HABITATS IN AGRICULTURE

This handout offers advice to integrate pollinator habitats within your farming systems.

Using Cover Crops to Improve Water Quality

This resource discusses how cover crops can can improve water quality by reducing erosion, runoff, and leaching by improving soil health.

Cover Crops: A Cost-Effective Tool for Controlling Erosion

This resource discusses the costs of soil erosion and explains how cover crops and reduced tillage can limit erosion before it begins by protecting soil from raindrops and increasing infiltration.

COVER CROPS IN THE US: Current status and trends

In the last decade, we’ve seen remarkable growth of cover cropping use in every crop-producing region of the US1.  According to the 2017 USDA Census of Agriculture, over 150,00 farms reported using cover crops. Here, we provide an overview of cover cropping trends in the US, with a few key statistics and figures that illustrate...