b'COVER CROP CORNER8 Innovators Moving CoverCrops ForwardCOVER CROPPING AND intercropping can be traced back to the start of time. Only in recent history did the practice of monocultures really take hold. The Three Sisterscorn, beans, and squashhave been a mainstay in North American history. They are a combination of grass, legume and broadleafthe cornerstone of plant synergies. People using that cropping system did not know why it worked, they just knew it worked. As agriculture became more KEVIN ELMY,industrialized, it led to monoculture cropping. is founder of CoverNow, science is catching up to cover crop leaders Crops Canada. His book Coverwho are starting to understand how cover cropping is Cropping inhelping to improve our soils. Heres a quick overview Western Canada is available throughof people who have made a difference in the cover Friesen Press,cropping world:Amazon, and digitally throughOne of the first modern day innovators was Albert Apple Books,Howard. He was a botanist in England in the early Kindle, and Google Play. For more1900s and is regarded to be the father of modern info on Coverorganic principles. He became so frustrated with Crops Canada visit covercrops.ca English producers using synthetic inputs and growing monocultures that he moved to India where he practiced what he preached and proved that his system works.Yvonne Lawley has been researching cover crop use since her PhD where she was working with tillage radish. Now with the University of Manitoba, she is studying different cover cropping systems over different areas of use, creating a great knowledge base for Canadian producers. The Three Sisterscorn, beans, and squashhave been a Kris Nichols of Olds, Alta., loves what she does andmainstay in North American farming history. the fungi she studies. Shes a world leader in soil health knowledge and application. Part of her research showsJay Fuhrer from Bismarck, N.D., has been the face how cover cropping helps build the soils and loves toof education of soil health topics for years. He is discuss with producers how the system works and looksone of the few people that can take complicated soil for options for producers to try to help build their soils.health information and effectively boil it down so his Paul and Erin Kernaleguen from Birch Hills, Sask.,audience can fully understand it.run a dairy operation using regenerative principles andA list of cover crop innovators would not be complete use a cover crop-based diet for the cows. It shows howwithout mentioning Gabe Brown from Bismarck, N.D. true the words of Howard really are: the health of theMost cover crop conferences have Brown speaking, soil, plant, animal, and man is one and indivisible.spreading the word that the use of cover crops is not Clayton Robins ranches near Rivers, Man., wherejust theory, but can be done up at scale.his experience through the Nuffield Scholarship,Innovation in cover crops is the resurrection of old Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and his ownideas. We now have the advantage of science and can ranch, has helped him to incredible things. By usingdirect our energies with more focus to achieve our different plant groups, he can match the requirementsgoals. At the end of the day, we just must remember of his cattle while improving his soil quality whilea quote from Fuhrerplants fix dirt. One of my minimizing the environmental impact. favourite sayings! 44SPUDSMART.COM Summer 2022'