Steve Groff – Holtwood, Pennsylvania

Steve Groff farms 225 acres of corn, soybean, small grains, pumpkins and other vegetables. He uses cover crops on 100 percent of his acres, and plants them even if it is late in the year. Groff started using cover crops in the early 1980s simply for erosion control, but now appreciates their many benefits, including nutrient management, moisture conservation and soil health improvement. A few of the cover crops he uses are radishes, cereal rye, clover, vetch and oats. In this video, he offers tips to farmers thinking about starting with cover crops: “Before you buy a bag of seed, educate yourself.”