Roller Crimping Cover Crops for Soil Health and Weed Suppression in Corn Production 

WHEN: August 23, 4:30 pm 

Free Webinar

Roller crimping is a way to mechanically terminate cover crops at a specific maturity level. It has many advantages—it can help minimize the need for herbicides while keeping soil protected, suppressing weeds, supporting greater nutrient and water holding capacity, and reducing erosion.  

However, getting the cover crop timing and planting density just right to crimp can be a huge challenge for northern producers who face a short growing season. What should corn producers consider when designing a cover crop and corn rotation involving roller crimping? What is the ideal stage to terminate, and how reliable is roller crimping at killing the cover crop? What is likely to go wrong, and what are the advantages of this system when it works well? 

Join American Farmland Trust for a panel discussion on roller crimping cover crops in northern corn fields. We’ll hear from Kate Parsons, Massachusetts NRCS Resource Conservationist, who has worked with several farmers adopting roller crimping on their fields, as well as Isaac Freund and John Macauley, two of 15 farmers nation-wide participating in AFT’s NRCS On-Farm Trials Conservation Innovation Grant, “Conquering Cover Crop Challenges,” from 2021-2026. We will hear an update from AFT’s Aaron Ristow on AFT’s on-farm research on roller crimping, and the panel will take questions from participants. 

Participants who submit evaluations after the event will be entered into a raffle for a $250 gift card.