Cover crop strategies require in-depth future planning

By Lisa Kopochinski for the Spring 2025 edition of the Farming Smarter Magazine

Many will agree that the farming industry has made great progress in recognizing when and where cover crops can help in Alberta’s climate. 

“Cover cropping strategies can immensely depend on the climate of a specific area,” says Ashley Wagenaar, Farming Smarter’s conservation agronomist and a certified crop advisor. 

“Here in Alberta—for the most part—we have a single crop season with little wiggle room on either side, as well as limited moisture. With these constraints, cover crops can only be successful in specific situations and require in-depth future planning.” 

Wagenaar says the main benefit to farms in this area are protection from wind erosion—both in and out of season— and late fall, winter, and early spring moisture availability.  

“Though there is limited time in the fall after harvest, trying to get a low-moisture and fast emerging cover can make all the difference in the spring. After a field undergoes a few freeze thaw cycles and has lost its heavy soil clumps that leaves it at risk of soil loss during those spring winds.” 

She adds that usually a cereal variant of some sort can work. Broadleaf covers—such as clovers and vetches—have excellent benefits. However, they can be difficult to establish and have high moisture requirements. 

“We’ve learned that not everything works here with our dry climate, but with a few modifications, we can still incorporate covers to help with specific challenges,” Wagenaar says. 

The interest in cover cropping mainly comes from southern Alberta as this area has high winds, low moisture, and lower than average organic matter. This creates an area lower in disease and insect pest pressures, and an area that can grow high value crops.  

“There is a focus in southern Alberta to increase the organic residue on a field to maintain that organic matter, as well as keep a field covered to protect that valuable topsoil layer,” explains Wagenaar. 

“With our irrigation capabilities, we’re also able to grow some specialty crops that include higher levels of cultivation, such as sugar beets and potatoes that leave a field with minimal residue after harvest. These areas have gained a lot of attention, but I wouldn’t say that only southern Alberta is interested.”  

“It depends on a farm’s strategies and what they want to do with a cover crop, or what problem they are trying to solve. Other areas in Alberta could also be looking at cover crops to help with weed management, moisture control, and marginal land improvement.”

Cover Crop Experimentation 

Wagenaar works with some innovative potato farms researching how to successfully establish reliable ground cover after the potato harvest to avoid bare fields prone to heavy wind erosion.  

“We’re investigating different cereals—such as winter wheat, winter triticale, and winter barley—at different populations to evaluate different ground covers that survive and produce spring populations,” she explains. 

“We have another trial looking at different planting dates of winter wheat. We planted way later than normal to watch for any plant emergence. Both projects try to expand the cover crop options or the ‘tools in the toolbox’ for farms following a late fall harvest.”  

Wagenaar also worked with other farms that have an interest in using a cover crop to protect the main crop as a “nurse crop.” Some seed canola farms will plant barley before planting canola, so the emerging canola seedlings have barley protection from wind erosion and sand blasting—when the wind gusts moving sand particles cut the seedlings as they emerge from the soil.  

“Overall, we’re progressing but we still struggle with environmental constraints,” she says. “Sometimes there is no cover that can emerge fast enough to cover a field throughout the winter. And sometimes it is just too dry in the fall for anything to establish. We’re doing well trying to use these cover crops to the max, but they cannot be the only tools a farm relies on, as there are many situations that will not work.” 

She says some innovative companies are trying to incorporate multispecies crops into regular farm rotations as cash crops, such as hay productions, grazing, and silage to increase plant diversity. 

Main Challenges  

She says the main challenges with cover crops is Alberta’s limited season and moisture. Much of the cover crop research comes from the U.S. where many areas have a much longer season with higher heat units and without a frost risk. 

“Also, dryland farms have limited precipitation and irrigated farms are limited based on when the irrigation canals drain in the fall. In general, a cover crop is not harvested but is used in a way to build up the soil.” 

In southern Alberta, the most common cover crops are cereals as they are relatively fast to establish with minimal moisture requirements and can survive the winter. 

“If planted in the spring as a crop that is replacing a commercial crop, we also see a variety of multispecies blends that farms will grow that helps with the diversity in the soil, and then either graze it or cut it for hay,” she adds. 

Wagenaar reiterates, “There is never one way to use alternative strategies to increase crop diversity and soil cover. If anyone is interested, I encourage them to contact me.”