Optimising Subsidiary Crop Applications in Rotations (OSCAR)-farm Testing of Cover Crop Species Mixes

Summary

One challenge farmers face in planning cover crop systems is the dependence of cover crops on biophysical conditions such as soil type, rainfall, and climate. The performance of different cover crop species therefore varies according to geographic location and on-farm growing conditions. Farmers need a quick and effective way of identifying suitable species for their farm.
Although farmer led assessment methods may not produce robust, quantifiable data, they do encourage farmers to actively engage in selecting species mixes adapted to on-farm conditions and to assess species performance with an increased level of detail and scrutiny than might otherwise be used.