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Cover Crop Chart (version 2.0): Helping producers choose cover crops in crop and forage production systems

Metadata Updated: March 30, 2024

The Cover Crop Chart (v. 2.0) is designed to assist producers with decisions on the use of cover crops in crop and forage production systems. The chart, patterned after the periodic table of elements, includes information on 58 crop species that may be planted individually or in cocktail mixtures. Information on growth cycle, relative water use, plant architecture, seeding depth, forage quality, pollination characteristics, and nutrient cycling are included for most crop species. The Cover Crop Chart is easy to use, requiring only Adobe Acrobat software. Using the chart as a guide, users can select individual crop species by clicking on the name which will direct them to additional information about the selected crop. Icons within each crop page return the user to the chart, thereby easily allowing comparisons of different crops. The Cover Crop Chart represents a compendium of information from multiple sources throughout the U.S. and Canada, and is not based on research conducted at the USDA-ARS Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory (NGPRL). Primary sources of information included the Midwest Cover Crops Council, USDA - Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE), USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) PLANTS Database, relevant peer-reviewed journal articles, and the 3rd edition of Managing Cover Crops Profitably (Andy Clark, Editor). Information on specific crops is occasionally generalized and/or approximate to accommodate wide variation in geographic/agronomic conditions, and therefore may not reflect performance in on-farm conditions. Accordingly, USDA - Agricultural Research Service (ARS) makes no guarantee to the performance of specific crops based on information provided within the Cover Crop Chart. The Cover Crop Chart is produced and distributed by the staff of the USDA-ARS NGPRL, Mandan, ND. Mark Liebig and Holly Johnson contributed to the design and content of the chart with input from NGPRL staff and producers and technicians from the Area IV Soil Conservation Districts of North Dakota and NRCS staff at the Bismarck and Dickinson Field/Area Offices. Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: Cover Crop Chart download page. File Name: Web Page, url: https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/software/download/?softwareid=263&modecode=30-64-05-00

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: Creative Commons CCZero

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Created Date March 30, 2024
Metadata Updated Date March 30, 2024
Data Update Frequency irregular

Metadata Source

Harvested from USDA JSON

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date March 30, 2024
Metadata Updated Date March 30, 2024
Publisher Agricultural Research Service
Maintainer
Identifier 10.15482/USDA.ADC/1176959
Data Last Modified 2023-11-30
Public Access Level public
Data Update Frequency irregular
Bureau Code 005:18
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 5488864b-b090-48e6-ac66-1dc8dc8bfcaa
Harvest Source Id d3fafa34-0cb9-48f1-ab1d-5b5fdc783806
Harvest Source Title USDA JSON
License https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
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Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash ff56bf0b9f4ba5aee18892caf220cc466c1c67e9cb561860191821716e59dbb6
Source Schema Version 1.1
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