Winter canola possesses many of the same benefits as other common cover crop Brassica species, including an aggressive taproot, nutrient cycling, and overwintering biomass. The potential exists to increase the use of winter canola as a cover crop Brassica across the U.S. and to improve the plant traits that make it a capable cover crop, utilizing the germplasm pool under selection at K-State.
The K-State canola breeding program serves as a co-principal investigator on a National Cover Crop Variety Improvement and Seed Production Program, funded by a $10 million USDA Sustainable Agricultural Systems grant, and led by the University of Missouri Center for Regenerative Agriculture. This nationally coordinated effort will catalyze more rapid and effective progress in meeting demand for regionally adapted, high-quality cover crop seed of five different cover crop species.
Take Our Survey
The MU Center for Regenerative Agriculture invites farmers from across the U.S. to complete a short online survey to better understand the types of traits and characteristics producers value most in their cover crops. The results of the survey will directly inform future cover crop breeding and variety testing research, as well as outreach efforts, to help meet the needs of farmers across the country.
The survey will take approximately 5 to 15 minutes and is completely voluntary. All types of producers are encouraged to participate, including both those with and without cover crop experience. Survey findings will be shared through presentations, publications in peer-reviewed literature, and farm media outlets. If you have any questions, please contact Etienne Sutton at etiennesutton@missouri.edu.
Follow this link to complete the survey: https://missouri.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8oJnvCLDdrNHiKi
Mike Stamm, Canola Breeder
mjstamm@ksu.edu
Tags: canola survey cover crops