Winter rye is prized for its versatility. It is a source of grain and also a forage and ground cover that protects the soil from erosion by wind and rain. But the benefits of winter rye don’t stop there.
A series of studies, begun in 2015, by a team of Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and university collaborators suggest that establishing a cover crop of winter rye between rotations of corn and soybean can reduce nitrate losses, sequester carbon, and provide a source of renewable natural gas.
Robert Malone, an agricultural engineer with the ARS National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment in Ames, Iowa, is coordinating the studies to evaluate rye’s potential role in the "sustainable intensification of agriculture"—an approach deemed critical to meeting growing world demand for food, feed, fiber, and fuel without overtaxing what the land and natural resources can provide.
In the latest studies, the team used a field-scale computer model to simulate rotations of corn and soybean, with or without winter rye cover crops, at 40 sites across the North Central United States, including parts of the Mississippi River Basin, which empties into the Gulf of Mexico.
Source: usda.gov
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