Catalyzing cover crop advancement as a climate-smart practice through a national variety improvement and seed production program

CATALYZING COVER CROP ADVANCEMENT AS A CLIMATE-SMART PRACTICE THROUGH A NATIONAL VARIETY IMPROVEMENT AND SEED PRODUCTION PROGRAM

Sponsoring Institution

National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Project Status

ACTIVE

Funding Source

AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT

Reporting Frequency

Annual

Accession No.

1029677

Grant No.

2023-68012-38993

Cumulative Award Amt.

$10,000,000.00

Proposal No.

2022-07530

Multistate No.

(N/A)

Project Start Date

Apr 1, 2023

Project End Date

Mar 31, 2028

Grant Year

2023

Program Code

[A9201]- Sustainable Agricultural Systems

Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI
(N/A)
COLUMBIA,MO 65211

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
This project involves a diverse team of 34collaborators from 17states, including universities, Agriculture Research Service scientists, Natural Resources and Conservation Service Plant Materials Centers, and seed company partners. The project is using a systems approach to addressing USDA-NIFA Sustainable Agriculture Systemsgoals on climate-smart agriculture along with strengthening regional bioeconomies in rural areas.The key issue this project will address is that there is a tremendous shortage of good cover crop varieties adapted to various regions of the U.S. Related to that, there is little knowledge on how various cover crop varieties perform in various areas, including how they differ in root growth, suitability for grazing, and other characteristics. With the rapid growth of cover crop use, there is also a emerging challenge in supplying enough cover crop seed, so more growers of seed need to be trained on how to profitably grow seed as part of their farming operation.Some specific activities of this project are to:Continue and expand existing breeding efforts with cover crops for key traits like winter survival, strong production of cover crop biomass, ability to help control weeds and sequester carbon, etc.Catalyze researchlooking at root development and grazing/forage quality of promising new cover crop varietiesWork with the cover crop seed industry on getting new cover crop varieties into the marketplace and available to farmersAddress any barriers or policy issues affecting availability of cover crop seed and improved varieties, working with the American Seed Trade AssociationEstablisha National Cover Crop Variety Trial Network in 12or more states across the U.S.Train farmers to produce seed of new varieties, and provide economic analysis on profitability of cover crop seed productionEducate farmers on the merits of using improved, regionally-adapted cover crop varieties instead of generic seedDevelop curriculum material on how to breed cover crops and use of cover crop variety data in managing cropping systemsContinuegrowing the cover crop industry and expanding cover crop adoption?

Animal Health Component

50%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

25%

Applied

50%

Developmental

25%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
202	2140	1081	70%
205	2410	3020	30%

Knowledge Area
205 - Plant Management Systems; 202 - Plant Genetic Resources;

Subject Of Investigation
2140 - Ground covers; 2410 - Cross-commodity research--multiple crops;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education; 1081 - Breeding;

Keywords

cover crops

soil health

Goals / Objectives
The general goal of this project is to catalyze further adoption of cover crops as a climate-smart practice helping farmers adapt to climate change.Through transdisciplinary research, extension, and education activities, the project will develop a comprehensive national program on cover crop varietal improvement leading to increased use of regionally adapted varieties. The project will also train farmers to become producers of cover crop seed, ensuring an adequate supply of quality seed to meet market demand and USDA goals with climate-smart agriculture and cover crops.Specific objectives:1) Accelerate cover crop germplasm improvements for establishment vigor, winter-hardiness, biomass, allelopathy, disease resistance, seed yield, and other traits.2) Research cover crop germplasm differences in root growth and forage/grazing quality.3) Establish a National Cover Crop Variety Testing Program to determine optimal regional adaptation of improved varieties.4) Work with small and mid-sized farmers to develop new areas of cover crop seed productioncontributing to the sustainability of regional bioeconomies.5) Investigate and address barriers to growth in the cover crop seed industry.6) Create cover crop curriculum material and engage with cover crop seed industry representatives for participation in classroom discussions.7) Provide extension and outreach programs that catalyze adoption of improved cover crop varieties and support expansion of cover crop seed production.

Project Methods
Expected methods and procedures are identified for each objective below.Objective 1.Accelerate cover crop germplasm improvements for establishment vigor, winter -hardiness, biomass, allelopathy, disease resistance, seed yield, and other traits.Six locations will host breeding nurseries: MN, NC, NY, WI, OR, and KS. Fall vigor, spring vigor, maturity, determinacy, disease, seed yield, and biomass at seed harvest will be recorded for each plant. Hairy vetch breeding will take place at all locations. Cereal rye breeding will take place in MN, NC, and NY. Crimson clover breeding will occur in NC and OR. Rapeseed/canola breeding will happen in KS.Advanced Line Trials.Seed from top selections in breeding nurseries will be increased each year by the respective breeding groups. Lines with adequate seed after increase will be distributed to nine advanced line trial sites. Each location will collect data on emergence and fall vigor one and two months after planting, spring vigor and percent stand count at green up, and winter damage. Prior to biomass collection, data will be collected on maturity, disease and pest resistance, and vigor. All advanced breeding lines will be evaluated for seed yield in typical seed production regions. Data collected on seed production plots will include emergence, spring stand count, maturity rating, disease incidence, seed yield, biomass at seed harvest, viable seed, hard seed, and 1000-seed weight.Objective 2. Research cover crop germplasm differences in root growth and forage/grazing quality.To date, the limited amount of cover crop breeding and germplasm selection work in the U.S. has focused primarily on biomass and rapid growth. For species with potential to over-winter, evaluation of winter-hardiness has also been evaluated. These traits are very important and will continue to be key parts of the germplasm evaluation and variety comparisons in this project. However, we will also add evaluation of root system characteristics and forage/ grazing value. For root and forage/grazing evaluations, a limited selection of advanced breeding lines will be used to understand how our breeding efforts impact these other important traits.Both increased root growth and grazing of cover crops have the potential to further boost soil carbon sequestration and help address climate change considerations.Objective 3. Establish a National Cover Crop Variety Trial Program to determine optimal regional adaptation of improved varieties.Development of a new National Cover Crop Variety Trial Network will be a major outcome of this project that will pay dividends for years to come. To create this network, we have engaged research partners to manage variety tests in 12 states. All site cooperators will complete a training on conducting a visual rating for three key growth stages, which are initial fall establishment (done around the time of first frost), winter survival (done after spring green-up), and biomass at termination time. Besides the visual rating of biomass, sites will be encouraged to optionally collect an additional biomass measurement, such as stand heights or preferably above-ground biomass dry weights based on clipping small areas.Objective 4.Work with small and mid-sized farmers to develop new areas of cover crop seed production contributing to the sustainability of regional bioeconomiesSeed production training workshops.To help current and prospective seed producers be more successful, we will offer seed production training workshops and develop production guides for several cover crop species. These workshops are expected to serve an average of 20 growers per session and will discuss planting, maintaining, harvesting, and cleaning cover crop seed for sale, as well as applicable seed laws. Locations for the workshops will be targeted to areas that are the best options for each species.Seed production guides and budgets.Seed production guides will be released in the third and fourth years of the project and paired with economic budget templates to help prospective growers decide if seed production is a viable business option for them. As with other aspects of the outreach efforts, we will consult with our industry partners and ask them to review drafts of extension materials, and to participate in training workshops when appropriate. Typical guides will be four to six pages in length; the accompanying budgets will be one to two pages in length.Objective 5.Investigate and address barriers to growth in the cover crop seed industryEarly in the project, we will conduct a survey of their member companies on potential barriers and opportunities related to expansion of the cover crop seed industry. We will particularly target companies already engaged with cover crop seed sales, but we will also include a cross section of seed companies who are not yet involved with cover crops. Survey questions will be developed with input from our seed industry advisory committee members for the project.Objective 6. Create cover crop curriculum material and engage with cover crop seed industry representatives for participation in classroom discussionsThe education component of this grant will build on a previous NIFA SAS grant that included development of a new multi-institution course on cover crops. Each module will consist of a packet with lecture slides, discussion prompts, suggested readings, quiz questions, and resource materials.Objective 7. Provide extension and outreach programs that catalyze adoption of improved cover crop varieties and support expansion of cover crop seed production.The extension and outreach component of this project will include developing variety test reports on cover crop varieties, release of variety decision tools and field days to showcase new varieties.Project evaluationA detailed formative evaluation plan will be implemented involving key deliverables and milestones including the following evaluation activities and indicators assessing change in knowledge, change in behavior, and progress towards project objectives:Change in knowledge of target audiences:Seed industry professionals: Each seed industry training workshop will have pre- and post-testing of workshop participants to determine knowledge gained.Cover crop guide users: A portion of those downloading cover crop seed production guides will be asked to fill out a short evaluation of the material.Members of the ASTA cover crop working group and other seed company representatives will be surveyed in 2024 and 2026 to evaluate progress with the overall seed industry effort.Selected field days will be evaluated as to their effectiveness in helping farmers evaluate new cover crop varieties and to gain feedback on progress being made with new varieties.Change in behaviors of target audiences:Seed industry professionals: Post-workshop surveys will be conducted after six months to determine how many participants intend to implement aspects of the training, particularly entering into cover crop seed production or enlarging their seed production efforts.In the summer of 2027, a key overall evaluation step will be surveying both cover crop seed companies and ag retailers, such as fertilizer dealers who sell cover crop seed, on the progress in moving away from VNS seed to use of improved cover crop varieties.In the summer of 2026, an evaluation survey will be sent to the 12 National Cover Crop Variety collaborators and ask for their input on improvements or changes to that program.

Progress 04/01/24 to 03/31/25

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences during this reporting period included farmers, conservation professionals, extensionists, crop advisors, and members of the cover crop seed industry. Farmers are the end users of the improved cover crop varieties being developed as part of this project, and are thus a key audience. We also targeted conservation professionals, extensionists, and crop advisors because it is critical that they understand the potential benefits of regionally-adapted cover crop varieties for the success of their advisees. To effectively address barriers and opportunities to expanding the cover crop seed industry, we also engaged and shared findings with members of the cover crop seed industry during this reporting period. Finally, our project team targeted academic audiences to exchange methodological knowledge, communicate research results, and train the next generation of agricultural leaders. Changes/Problems:We encountered several challenges this reporting period. The cover crops planted for use in a forage metabolism study in fall 2024 did not produce sufficient biomass to conduct the study. The cover crops will be replanted in fall 2025 with appropriate agronomic adjustments to ensure adequate growth for the metabolic analyses, which will then inform management recommendations for using cover crops in forage and grazing contexts. Federal staffing reductions have also led to labor shortages at several USDA-ARS and USDA-NRCS-PMC sites that host breeding nurseries, advanced line trials, and/or seed yield trials. While many sites have adequate staff to complete data collection, seed harvest, or biomass harvest from 2024-25 trials, a few do not. To estimate cover crop biomass where destructive biomass harvest is not possible, co-PI Reberg-Horton's research group has developed an imaging protocol that leverages the PlantMap3D MonoOak Camera system developed through the Precision Sustainable Agriculture SAS CAP. Sites will be able to use this imaging system to gather data in lieu of destructive harvest. To characterize seed yield of advanced Cover Crop Breeding Network lines, pilot seed yield trials were established in 2023-24. These were challenging and labor intensive, resulting in data from only a subset of sites, and only for crimson clover and hairy vetch. In 2024-25, crimson clover and hairy vetch seed yield trials including Cover Crop Breeding Network lines were planted. For winter pea, one advanced line trial site will measure seed yield instead of biomass. Seed yield trials using one commercial variety per species have been established at USDA-NRCS PMCs to gauge regional suitability for cover crop seed production. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A total of four graduate students were hired during this reporting period. One PhD student in Wisconsin was hired to focus on rye breeding and research vetch toxicity to livestock. Co-PIs Kucek and Riday will provide her with training in a wide range of field, laboratory, greenhouse, data analysis, and management skills. Technicians, research support specialists, and undergraduate students were hired across many project locations and trained in activities including protocol development, research plot establishment and maintenance, nursery and variety trial management and data collection, seed processing, and forage analysis. A Master's student was hired to assist with the National Cover Crop Variety Testing Program in Tennessee, and co-PI Blair has provided ample opportunity for him to develop and test his own research questions within the scope of the trial, including soil microbiome comparisons across varieties. In Missouri, one PhD student was hired to lead the evaluation of cover crop root traits and has been trained by co-PI Fritschi in laboratory and field methods for this. Another student in Missouri completed his Master's of Science degree after conducting soil health research for this project under the mentorship of co-PIs Udawatta and Davis. He also gained teaching experience as a teaching assistant for a Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition course, and delivered four poster presentations and one oral presentation. Two postdoctoral scholars, one in Vermont working with co-PI Niles and another in Missouri working with co-PI Brake, helped lead major research efforts for this project, including the cover crop seed industry survey and a cover crop grazing metabolism study, respectively, helping advance their academic careers. In Nebraska, a junior faculty member has received one-on-one mentorship from co-PI Basche related to developing evaluation materials for the education and curriculum content produced for this project. Finally, project manager Sutton received in depth mentorship fromPD Myers on project leadership; training from a senior project member on data management; attended professional development activities, including the Cover Crop Breeding Network 2024 Annual Meeting, ASTA Forage, Turf, & Conservation Seed 2024 Annual Meeting, and the ASA-CSSA-SSSA 2024 Annual Meeting; and participated in the Soil and Water Conservation Society's Emerging Leaders Program. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Team members disseminated project results through numerous activities that reached farmers, seed growers, researchers, extensionists, crop advisors, and seed company representatives, including: NDSU Cover Crop Variety Trial Field Day - Berti (September 2024) Interview with Columbia, Missouri's National Public Radio member station (KBIA) - Project Manager Sutton (January 2025) Forage Seed Production Forum24 - Project Manager Sutton (December 2024) Great Lakes Crop Summit - Project Manager Sutton (January 2025) Cultivating Resilience Winter Farm Conference - Project Manager Sutton (February 2025) Regenerative Agriculture North America Summit - Project Manager Sutton (March 2025) Conservation Tillage and Technology Conference - Project Manager Sutton (March 2025) Oregon Seed Association - Hanson and Kissing Kucek (April 2024) Cover Crop Breeding Field Walks - Moore and Hanson (April-May 2024) Hyslop Farm Field Day - Hayes (May 2024) Spring Cover Crop Research Update - Riday and Kissing Kucek (May 2024) Cornell Seed Growers Field Day - Moore and Hanson (June 2024) New York Soil Health Cover Crop Field Day - Moore and Hanson (Oct 2024) NY Advanced Soil Health Specialist Training - Moore (Fall 2024) Plant Biology and SCS Departmental seminars - Moore (March 2025) In-person stakeholder advisory committee meeting to share project updates and receive feedback (October 2024) Poster presentation at Midwest Cover Crop Council Annual Meeting - Udawatta, Morgan, and Rambadagalla (Feb 2024) Additionally, the Cover Crop Breeding Network Variety Release Availability List was disseminated directly via email to a list of 39 seed industry contacts and further through the project advisory committee members. Collaborators met individually with several seed companies interested in licensing new Cover Crop Breeding Network varieties. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Objective 1:Cover crop breeding team leaders will make selections from 2024-25 breeding nurseries, and a subset of lines will be targeted for seed increase or for inclusion in advanced line trials (ALT). Breeding team leaders will analyze 2024-25 ALT data, compose 2025-26 ALT's and update the Cover Crop Breeding Network Variety Release Availability List. Collaborator Tilhou will also assess the effectiveness of the hairy vetch soft seed marker and compose 2025-26 hairy vetch nurseries accordingly. Co-PI Kissing Kucek will continue breeding for distinct combinations of early/late maturity and high/low allelopathy in 2025-26 cereal rye nurseries. New collaborator Wolfe will utilize a newly compiled crimson clover pedigree to compose 2025-26 crimson clover nurseries, with attention to niches for early and late maturity varieties. Hanson will deploy novel early-generation winter pea germplasm with high winter survival to 2025-26 winter pea nurseries to continue selection for cold hardiness. The team will explore imaging technologies to increase precision of fall and spring biomass measurements, currently taken as vigor ratings. Objective 2:Following initial characterization of cover crop root traits under controlled conditions, lines will be selected for testing in multi-species mixtures based on their potential for root system complementarity. This will be done using in-situ rhizoboxes that replicate field conditions and allow for monitoring cover crop roots throughout the season with minimal disturbance. Soil cores for cereal rye, winter canola, and winter pea or hairy vetch (whichever best survives winter at each location) will also be collected from nine of the National Cover Crop Variety Testing Program sites to understand variation in cover crop root traits across different environments. To inform future breeding for improved forage and grazing quality, a subset of varieties from the cover crop advanced line trials will be analyzed for forage nutritive quality. A cover crop grazing study will also be implemented fall 2025 to test how cereal rye cover crop varieties with contrasting maturities influence animal performance and environmental outcomes. Objective 3:The team will develop a process for adding new sites, species, and varieties to the program, including exploring cover crop seed industry involvement. For the 2025-26 cover crop season, we anticipate planting another round of variety trials at all 12 sites included in the 2024-25 program, as well as at several new sites. Pending successful seed increases for varieties developed by the Cover Crop Breeding Network, the program will include several new cover crop varieties. We will also solicit feedback from farmers and seed industry members to refine the data collection and reporting procedures to ensure they are as useful as possible to the agricultural community. Objective 4:Training materials will be developed related to the economics, logistics, and best practices of producing cover crop seed. After consulting our advisory committee, analyzing preliminary data from seed yield trials, and evaluating crop rotation scenarios across different regions of the U.S., we will then select locations to hold cover crop seed production workshops beginning winter 2026. Objective 5:The cover crop seed industry survey report will be published and made publicly available to share with a wide range of stakeholders. To address cover crop seed industry challenges related to forecasting demand identified through interviews and survey responses, meetings will be organized between USDA personnel and cover crop seed industry representatives to identify strategies for improving communication channels related to policies and regulations that impact demand. Objective 6:Instructors will be interviewed for their initial impressions of the three cover crop modules to inform improvements before pilot testing the modules in up to ten classrooms beginning fall 2025. Objective 7:Following spring data collection from sites participating in the National Cover Crop Variety Testing Program, a report will be compiled showing results at each site. The report will be widely disseminated to farmers, crop advisors, extensionists, and the seed industry through press releases, email lists, and cover crop events. Beginning spring 2025, farmers will be recruited to participate in a citizen science variety testing effort, and then provided cover crop seed to grow trials on their farms from fall 2025 to spring 2026. Observations and data will be reported through an interactive variety testing platform called SeedLinked. We will also develop a multi-pronged strategy for educating farmers about benefits of named and registered varieties compared to VNS, and about the availability of new and improved cover crop varieties for different regions and farming systems. This will likely include field days, fact sheets, farmer case studies, and economic materials about the value of different cover crop traits and characteristics for newly developed varieties.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective1:Seed was harvested from 2023-24 breeding nurseries,and 2024-25 nurseries were established. Outstandinglines were advanced for seed increase and trials. Advanced line trials (ALT) were conducted on 14 and 15 sites in 2023-24 and 2024-25, respectively. Emergence, vigor, winter survival, relative maturity, and biomass yield were noted, and a multi-year ALT analysis identified superior lines. A genetic marker for soft seed was used to screen entries for 2024-25 HV nurseries, accelerating advancement toward soft seeded vetch. Results from cereal ryeallelopathy screening nurseries will inform selection in northern ryenurseriesto develop high and low allelopathy rye. Seed yield trials (SYT) were piloted in 2023-24, and SYTin 2024-25 are investigating seed yield of top advanced lines. 2 hairy vetchand two winter pealines are advancing toward commercial release.Objective 2:120 experimental cover crop lines from winter pea, winter canola, crimson clover, hairy vetch, and cereal rye were selected for screening of root traits in deep-pot testbeds under controlled conditions. We found significant differences in total root length acrosspea genotypes as well as within different root diameter classes. Data analysis for other species is underway. Plans were also developed for a field study testing the suitability of different rye varieties for cover crop grazing, and to evaluate forage quality of advanced lines to inform future breeding efforts.Objective 3:In fall 2024, the National Cover Crop Variety Testing Program was initiated at twelve sites across the U.S. Each site planted five varieties each of crimson clover, winter pea, hairy vetch, cereal rye, and winter canola. The trials feature a combination of commercially available varieties and those being developed by the Cover Crop Breeding Network. Data were collected for fall emergence, winter survival, and disease incidence, with plans to collectdata on weed suppression, spring biomass, and maturity prior to termination in spring 2025.Objective 4:A protocol was developed to conduct interviews with farmers engaged in cover crop seed productionto improve understanding of key challenges and benefits to producing cover crop seed. The findings of this work will inform efforts to train new farmers in cover crop seed production as an emerging market opportunity to help meet increasing demand for high quality cover crop seed.Objective 5:Based on findings of economic analyses and qualitative interviews with seven cover crop seed industry leaders, a report titled "Is the U.S. Cover Crop Seed Industry Ready to Support Projected Adoption Rates? A Snapshot of the Industry" was published. The report highlighted key barriers and opportunities to expanding the cover crop seed industry, as well as strong potential for expanding domestic seed production given the large amount of cover crop seed currently imported to the U.S. Those findings then informed the development of a quantitative cover crop seed industry survey that wasdistributed to members of the American Seed Trade Association's cover crop email list. Preliminary results were shared with our project advisory group to solicit feedback and facilitate interpretation. Survey results were then compiled into a report that will soon be published and shared with a wide range of agricultural stakeholders.Objective 6:Three educational modules were completed for use in undergraduate and graduate courses, including a cover crop overview module; a cover crop variety selection module; and a cover crop breeding module. These modules are accompanied by slide decks, quizzes, instructor guides, and supplemental activities.Seed industry representatives were engaged throughout the development of the modules to provide feedback, as well as record videos about different seed industry topics that serve as supplemental materials for the modules.Objective 7:To complement the National Cover Crop Variety Testing Program, a citizen science variety trial program was developed. The goal is to engage producers in cover crop variety testing on their farms to better understand performance across a wide range of real world conditions, and to increase farmer awareness of the benefits of using regionally adapted varieties compared to VNS, which is the most common type of cover crop seed used by farmers, yet can pose challenges due to poor seed quality and consistency.

Publications

Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Kissing Kucek, L. Forage Cover Crops for Dairy Rotations: Variety Selection and Improvement. Midwest Forage Association. Feb 2025.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Hanson, S. Breeding for biomass and beyond: Cover crop breeding progress, potential, and farmer participation. Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario. Dec 2024.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Hendrickson, M., Milhollin, R., Wilson, K. Catalyzing a cover crop seed industry baseline report. MU Division of Applied Social Sciences Lunch and Learn Series. Oct 2024.
Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Tilhou, N., L. Kissing Kucek, B. Carr, J. Douglas, J. Englert, S. Ali, J. Raasch, S. Bhamidimarri, S. Mirsky, M.J. Monteros, H. Riday. 2024. Pooled DNA sequencing in hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) reveals QTL for seed dormancy but not pod dehiscence. Frontiers in Plant Science. 2024:15.
Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Tilhou, N., Kissing Kucek, L., Moore, V., Hanson, S. , Reberg?Horton, S.C., Ryan, M.R., Ehlke, N., et al. Seed Size Has a Major Impact on Fall Seedling Vigor in the Cover Crop Hairy Vetch ( Vicia Villosa Roth). Crop Science 65, no. 1 (January 2025): e21439.
Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Tilhou, N., Kissing Kucek, L., Moore, V., Hanson, S. , Reberg?Horton, S.C., Ryan, M.R., Ehlke, N., et al. 2025. Hairy Vetch (Vicia Villosa Roth) Germplasm Contains a Cryptic Second Species (Vicia Varia Host). Crop Science.
Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Wilson, Kelly R., Mary K. Hendrickson, Ryan Milhollin, J. Alan Weber, and Robert L. Myers. 2024. Is the U.S. Cover Crop Seed Industry Ready to Support Projected Adoption Rates? A Snapshot of the Industry. University of Missouri Center for Regenerative Agriculture. https://mospace.umsystem.edu/xmlui/handle/10355/106442
Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2025 Citation: Thapa, R., S. Hanson, J. Hua, and V.M. Moore. 2025. Breeding for cold tolerance in common annual legume cover crops. Crop Science.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Hanson, S. et al. Toward 40 million cover cropped acres: Breeding fall-sown cover crops for ecosystem services and farm system compatibility. Cornell Plant Breeding Symposium. April 2024.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Kissing Kucek, L., Moore, V., Leon Gonzales, R., Reberg?Horton, S.C. Building a cereal rye breeding program for cover crop use. North American Alfalfa Improvement Conference. June 2024.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Myers, R., and Sutton, E. Cover Crop Industry Outlook. American Seed Trade Association Forage, Turf and Conservation Seed Conference. Oct 2024.

Progress 04/01/23 to 03/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience reached during this reporting period for the breeding components of our project targets cover crop users as well as professionals studying, developing, and promoting the use of cover crops. This includes farmers, gardeners, seed producers, seed industry personnel, conservation professionals, plant breeders, agronomists, extension personnel. The target audience for the cover crop variety testing components of our project include farmers and researchers. The target audience of the cover crop seed industry and economic component of our project will, in time, focus on agricultural producers. However, during this time period our intended audience was companies within the seed industry that actively market cover crop seed. Direct interaction occurred with seed companies through the industry advisory group, and extended interaction has occurred via our industry partner American Seed Trade Association (ASTA). The target audience for the cover crop grazing and forage components of our project include producers and farmers. The target audience for the education components of our project include undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in courses related to cover crops, plant breeding and crop management. Faculty of such courses are also a part of our target audience. Additionally, we will be working with cover crop seed industry representatives in preparing materials so although they are not the main target audience, they remain an important stakeholder for our work. Changes/Problems:Initial planting of a fall cover crop in 2023 was unsuccessful, resulting in the delay of the initiation of the grazing / forage metabolic trial until the spring. Weather conditions were not conducive, but it afforded the opportunity to plan further for the spring trial. Cover crops were successfully replanted in the spring in 2024. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As part of this project, several undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and staff were trained across several project locations and on a wide range of field, laboratory, greenhouse, data analysis, and management skills. Team members attended the annual meeting of our project held in tandem with the tri-societies conference in St. Louis in October 2023. This allowed everyone the opportunity to connect with others on the team, as well as to exchange ideas about research objectives. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Plant breeding collaborators hosted and/or presented project results at several field days across collaborating locations. These events were attended by farmers, seed producers, and employees from multiple seed companies selling cover crop seed. Several collaborators have presented project results at academic and farmer conferences. USDA NRCS Plant Materials Centers have also included information about Cover Crop Breeding Network efforts in their newsletters and annual reports to increase awareness among NRCS field staff and the public about the activities and benefits of our work. An overview document of cover crop curricula and plans to disseminate the material was shared with cover crop seed industry representatives for discussion and preliminary planning efforts. Because these materials are still under development, they have not yet disseminated to any courses/students/faculty. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?To improve cover crop variety germplasm, plant breeding team members plan to conduct cover crop planting, data collection, analysis, selection, and seed production activities across the planned experiments (including nurseries, advanced line trials, seed yield trials). Additionally, cultivars of hairy vetch and winter pea are planned to be released in the future. The National Cover Crop Variety Testing Program will be initiated in fall 2024. Therefore, this upcoming year, the trial protocol will be finalized, and cover crop entries will be determined for the first year of the trial. Seed will be harvested from seed increases of select cover crop breeding lines. A remote training session will be held for trial participants prior to the start of the trial. In the fall, the National Variety Trial will begin at our participating locations. Cover crop trials will be established, and data collection of cover crop vigor will continue throughout the season. At the end of the season, data from participating sites will be compiled for analysis and prepared for dissemination. A very high level of interest in the results from these trials has already been expressed by seed companies. They would like results posted as early as possible each spring. Their support will be cultivated carefully so that we can rely on their support in continuing these trials even after the conclusion of the grant. Results from the industry survey will be analyzed and summarized for review by project team members and industry partners during the beginning of Year 2 of the project. After review, survey information will be utilized to identify work plans and activity for the remainder of Years 2 - 5. Other objectives in Year 1 are to develop the initial economic tools for Years 2 - 5. This includes enterprise budgets for cover crop seed production which is intended to be utilized by growers interested in producing cover crop seed in new regions. In addition, the overall project (e.g., breeding objective) is working to improve cover crop traits. Economic budgets will be developed to help growers evaluate the economic value of these improved traits. In order to develop new areas of cover crop seed production for small and mid-sized farmers that will contribute to the sustainability of regional bioeconomies, our social science experts plan to conduct semi-structured interviews with selected farmers (current producers of cover crop seeds and potential producers) and conduct farmer focus groups to examine farmers' perceptions of the opportunities and barriers to producing cover crop seed and to understand the market for seed varieties that are not Variety Not Stated (VNS). This will include gaining approval for interviews and focus groups from IRB; recruiting participants and conducting interviews and focus groups. Plans for the coming year to achieve cover crop grazing and forage quality research goals include completing data collection for metabolomic trials, initiate forage quality validation, collaborate with the roots and soils project team members, and finalize plans for the coming grazing trials. Differences in root characteristics and genotypes will be investigated across multiple cover crop species. Tubes and sleeves will be used for root phenotyping. Preliminary characterization of multiple species will be determined using a test system. Scaled characterization will be performed in a deep tube system. Efforts will also be made to continue the investigation nitrogen transfer to corn with delayed termination of cover crops, as well as carbon and nitrogen forms, and carbon sequestration by cover crops within a corn-soybean rotation. Research methods will include field sampling and laboratory analysis by roots/soils experts and students. To accomplish cover crop curriculum goals during the upcoming year, engagement with the seed industry will continue. Three module drafts will be developed, and will then be tested in pre-existing courses. Course testing will be implemented by developing evaluative instruments. Outreach and extension programs highlighting cover crop variety adoption will be developed with input from the cover crop seed industry advisory group. Specifically, programs will focus on promoting named varieties versus Variety Not Stated (VNS) cover crops to farmers. Cover crop seed production trainings will be developed for regions across the country that will be identified by the social science team members' future farmer interviews, The interviews will aid in determining new areas of cover crop seed production for small and mid-sized farmers that will contribute to the sustainability of regional bioeconomies.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In effort to improve cover crop germplasm that can aid farmers in mitigating the effects of climate change, several accomplishments were achieved at our cover crop breeding nurseries, advanced line trials, seed yield trials, seed increase fields, and several varieties were moved through the release process. At the cover crop breeding nurseries, selections were made across all sites and species, seed was harvested and cleaned, plans were made for and seed was distributed to 2023-2024 nurseries, nurseries were planted at participating sites, and data was recorded on cover crop establishment, vigor, flowering and disease. Data analyses will be used to make decisions for the next growing season. For the cover crop advanced line trials, data was collected on plant vigor, flowering, disease, and biomass; 2022-2023 data was analyzed and decisions were made about lines to include in 2023-2024 trials; seed was distributed to and planted at participating trial locations. For cover crop seed yield trials, protocol was developed based on best management practices; seed was distributed and planted, and preliminary trials were implemented; planting sites for Year 1 Seed Yield Trials were recruited; plant establishment, vigor, flowering, and disease data was collected at preliminary trial sites. Data analyses will be used to make decisions for the next growing season. Cover crop seed increase fields were harvested in summer 2023, and planted in fall 2023 for the 2023-24 growing season. This seed will supply other teams on the project with appropriate plant materials to carry out their research on improved cover crop germplasm. Vetch and pea cover crop varieties were moved through the release process. In effort to establish a National Cover Crop Variety Testing Program, promising breeding lines were selected to include in the trial, which will start in Fall 2024. In preparation for the trial, seed increases of lines with low seed inventories were planted during Fall 2023, in order to ensure sufficient seed for Fall 2024. Seed was harvested and cleaned in during Spring 2024. A process was established to enroll industry-available entries over time. A variety testing program protocol was developed to clearly outline variety trial participant expectations and standardized procedures for data collection. Results from the national cover crop variety testing program will determine optimal regional adaptation of improved varieties. To investigate and address barriers to growth in the cover crop seed industry, several efforts were made to collaborate with industry partners. Eight preliminary semi-structured interviews were conducted with personnel from cover crop seed companies to inform development of a cover crop seed industry survey. An industry survey for seed companies was developed to understand market and policy barriers inhibiting growth in the cover crop seed industry. Interviews focused on key challenges and opportunities in the industry, perceived benefits and issues with policy, and future outlook for the industry. Tasks to complete included developing the interview protocol, gaining approval from IRB, conducting interviews, and transcribing and analyzing. Results were shared with project team members to develop survey. The survey was then further developed with industry input, reviewed internally multiple times, and beta tested with our partner, the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA). The survey will be distributed in Q1 of year two of the project. Results of the industry survey will help guide future activity of this workgroup. Routine meetings occurred with the cover crop industry workgroup. This workgroup is composed of agricultural economists, seed companies, and ASTA. The group routinely met throughout the year and meetings were held to ascertain relevant market conditions in the cover crop seed industry. As an example, based upon input from industry the magnitude of cover crop seed imports into the US was quantified and reviewed for market implications. Additional activity included preliminary development of enterprise budgets for cover crop seed production, targeting the five project cover crop species. Enterprise budgets for livestock producers were also drafted to evaluate anticipated improvements in forage quality traits. In effort to research cover crop germplasm differences in forage quality traits, a study plan was developed and ACUC approval was sought after. To investigate the impact of cover crop forage on cattle metabolism, cereal rye, oat, and brassica cover crops were planted in Fall 2023, as well as Spring 2024. Progress was made towards recruiting a graduate student or technician to aid in the investigation of cover crop forage effect on cattle metabolism. To investigate the differences in root characteristics and genotypes across multiple cover crop species, several accomplishments were achieved. To first investigate nitrogen transfer to corn with delayed termination of cover crops, a literature review was conducted and the materials and methods sections for a manuscript were developed. The study was then established, samples were collected and later analyzed. Additionally, progress was made toward hiring a graduate student to assist with the investigation. Next, a study was planned to investigate carbon and nitrogen forms, as well as carbon sequestration by cover crops within a corn-soybean rotation. A literature review was conducted and the materials and methods sections for a manuscript were developed. Three field sites across three age groups were identified for study locations. Soil samples were collected from the field sites, and later analyzed. Additionally, progress was made toward hiring a graduate student to assist with the study. In effort to create cover crop curriculum material, existing course documents were collected, such as syllabi, lab activities, videos, and readings. Topics and learning outcomes for modules were discussed and agreed upon. An overview document was drafted to share with industry partners, including general topics, where the group is headed, and how to engage them. Cover crop seed industry engagement was initiated. Module co-development has been ongoing with team feedback. A draft of the module was provided to industry for their feedback. Staff support was recruited for achievement of education team objectives. The developed cover crop curriculum material will ensure that students across the country can engage with cover crop seed industry representatives for participation in classroom discussions.

Publications

Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2023 Citation: Ali, S., L. Kissing Kucek, H. Riday, N. Krom, S. Krogman, K. Cooper, L. Jacobs, P. Mehta, M. Trammell, S. Bhamidimarri, T. Butler, M.C. Saha, M.J. Monteros. 2023. Transcript Profiling of Hairy Vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) identified interesting genes for seed qualities. The Plant Genome, 16(2).
Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2023 Citation: Fuller, T., L.M. Koch, L. Kissing Kucek, S. Ali, H. Mangelson, T. Hernandez, T. P.L. Smith, D.M. Bickhart, H. Riday, M.L. Sullivan. 2023. A reference assembly for the legume cover crop, hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth). Gigascience.
Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2023 Citation: Tilhou, N., L. Kissing Kucek, B. Carr, A. Marion, J. Douglas, J. Englert, S. Ali, J. Raasch, S. Bhamidimarri, S. Mirsky, M.J. Monteros, S. Krogman. 2023. Genome-wide association mapping in hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) discovers a large effect locus controlling seed dormancy. Frontiers in Plant Science.
Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2024 Citation: Rebong, D., S.H. Inoa, V.M. Moore, S.C. Reberg-Horton, S. Mirsky, et al. 2024. Breeding allelopathy in cereal rye for weed suppression. Weed Science 72(1): 3040. doi: 10.1017/wsc.2023.64.
Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2024 Citation: Kissing Kucek, L., K. Muller, L. Bastos Martins, V.M. Moore, C. Reberg-Horton, S.B. Mirksy, J. Englert, L. Drinkwater, J. Douglas, S.S. Eagen, R.J. McGee, M.R. Ryan, K. Clark, N. Ehlke, J. Hendrickson, J. Guretzky, N.P. Wiering, E. Henriquez Inoa, H. Johnson, S. Wayman, D. Archer, A. Bartow, A.N. Burke, R. Barrett, C. Bernau, A. Casey, S. Lee, H. Hillhouse, M. Smither-Kopperl, D. Wiggans, B. Carr, R. Crawford, T. Butler, K. Griffin, V. Bullard, S. Krogman, N. McGee, I. Silvernail, J. Wayment, and H. Riday. Genetic and Environmental Drivers of Legume Cover Crop Performance: I. Hairy vetch. Crop Science.
Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Basche, Andrea, Karen A. Renner, Erin R. Haramoto, Uriel D. Menalled, Sam E. Wortman, Dara Park, Richard G. Smith, Dean G. Baas, Katherine L. Tully, and Matthew R. Ryan. "Designing and implementing a synchronized multi?university cover crops course." Natural Sciences Education 53, no. 1 (2024): e20141.