Let it fly! Ashland SWCD gears up for aerial cover crop seeding

Ashland Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) will be partnering with Fisher Crop Care by Air for coordination of cover crops to be aerial seeded again this year. Aerial seeding is an exciting time for producers and for neighbors as they get to enjoy the talented pilots show off their skills with precise maneuver ability throughout the sky. The plane is up, cover crop seed is down, and the plane is back to the airport for another load. “Brian from Fisher Crop Care by Air has many years of experience and makes the aerial application look simple, but as we all can see there is so much knowledge and talent that it can not be taken for granted. Fisher Crop Care by Air is out of Mount Vernon, Ohio and Brian is great to work with” says Ashland Soil and Water Conservation Specialist Katie Eikleberry.  

Ashland SWCD has partnered with Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District for many years with the cover crop cost share program. This program allows producers that have farm ground within the jurisdiction of Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District to apply for cost share to plant a cover crop. There are multiple options for seeding cover crops, such as aerial, drilling, or broadcasting. Each method is effective and allows the producer to choose which fits into their specific operation best.

One advantage of aerial seeding cover crops is that more acres can be seeded in less time than with ground equipment. Aerial application also allows seeding to be performed when it is physically impossible to use ground equipment, such as when crops are present, or when the soil is too wet for regular equipment. Seeding, germination, and growth of a cover crop can begin before an existing crop has been harvested, which is especially important in areas where there is a very small window of opportunity between crop harvest and the end of the growing season. Since aerial seeding is generally riskier than drilling or broadcast seeding and incorporation, it is important to ensure the right soil surface and weather conditions exist at seeding time. The surface soil must be moist and friable to enable the seed to settle into the surface and make good contact with the soil. A surface that is loose and rough, or that has cracks or ample residue cover is optimal.  A flat, hard, dry soil surface is not conducive to aerial seeding success. Cover crop aerial seeding is more successful in areas where good soil moisture and frequent precipitation is present during late summer or early fall. The top ½ - 1 inch of soil must be consistently moist for seeds to germinate and establish.

Cereal rye is the most popular winter cover crop that is applied but there are a variety of other seeds and seed mixes that are available. Oats, barley, oat/barley mix as well as an oat/rye mix. Ashland SWCD purchases seed from Bird Agronomics. Bird Agronomics will send a semi load of seed that is stationed at the airport for the duration of the aerial seeding process. “Cody with Bird Agronomics is great! Between assisting our office with seed purchasing and arranging the truck to meet us at the airport for the day, you could not ask for better service and assistance” states Eikleberry.

Applying for cover crop cost share is an easy process. Ashland Soil and Water Conservation District administers the process of the cover crop sign up as well as field checks and pay out for any field that was signed up, approved, and planted prior to a November first deadline. National Resource Conservation Service sets the approved seeding rates as well as an extended deadline of November 15th. If the cover crop is planted after November 1st there may be an increase to the suggested seeding rate. Ashland Soil and Water Conservation District will have this seeding table on hand, or it also located online.

September 5, 2023 is the scheduled date for Ashland SWCD to be at Ashland airport with Fisher Crop Care by Air for our annual seeding. The plane comes to the airport, brings along their own tender truck that will put the seed in the plane and is ready to start the day. The tender truck will load the plane from the top of the plane, right in front of the cock pit, the plane will hold around four thousand pounds of dry material to be spread per trip.

Aerial sign-ups are currently underway, for more information on aerial seeding please contact Katie Eikleberry at 419-281-7645 or via email at keikleberry@ashlandcounty.org.