Article taken from Crop Production Magazine Cover Crops Supplement, April 2018, written by Tom Allen-Stevens.
Cover crops undoubtedly take a very different place in the rotation to cash crops. For starters, you wouldn't harvest produce from them and you're very unlikely even to let them set seed. The value is generally seen to be in their biomass - what they leave behind for the following crop and bring to the rotation in general.
But what about what they leave for the next generation? There's a compelling view they deliver a value to Society - like hedgerows and trees, for example - for which growers get no direct benefit but their management deserves some contribution from the public purse.
Phil Edenborough heads up Agrogate, the consultancy arm of Agrovista, and has for the past ten years helped growers join environmental stewardship schemes. ""There are areas of land in certain parts of the country that have been brought into arable production since World War II, that perhaps aren't the most productive and shouldn't be farmed as intensively. Where we're using metal and diesel to manage land, maybe we should be looking more to cover crop roots to improve soil structure, biodiversity and ultimately yield.""
Time pressures
The weight of machinery and equipment has increased significantly, he notes, and time pressures often mean soils are overloaded when they can least withstand it.
In France, it's been a legal requirement since 2000 to ensure land has a green cover over winter, notes Phil. ""This has not only reduced soil erosion, but there have been significant soil health and water management benefits - it's a win/win/win all round with no downside."" This all appears very much in tune with the Government's plans for agriculture and the environment as Brexit approaches. Launched last Sept was its 25-year plan for natural capital, with a stated aim ""to be the first generation to leave the natural environment in a better state than it inherited"".
""There's every justification for farmers to pay for point-source pollution," notes Phil. ""But there needs to be a distinction between pollution caused through negligence or bad practice and wider diffuse pollution that may be the inevitable consequence of growing crops with inappropriate practice.""
So as yet it's unclear exactly how cover crops will feature in the British Agricultural Policy that's due to come in during the 21-month implementation period that follows the point Britain leaves the EU in March 2019.
Much may depend on the command paper launched by Detra secretary of state Michael Gove last month. Entitled Health and Harmony: the future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit this consultation document sets out Government proposals for a new policy and asks for feedback on various points.
There are three areas where views on soils are sought - the questions in those sections include options on improving or improved soil health:
Section 4 - A successful future for farming. What are the priority research topics that industry and government should focus on to drive improvements in productivity and resource efficiency?
Section 5 - Public money for public goods. Which environmental outcomes do you consider to be the most important public goods that government should support?
Section 6 - Enhancing our environment. Which outcomes would be best achieved by incentivising action across a number of farms or other land parcels in a future environmental land management system?
Phil notes that water companies already work with groups of farmers in certain catchments to deliver targeted schemes, and suggests this is an area that could be given more emphasis and support. ""But there should also be a base scheme where any farmer is given an area payment to establish cover crops- that will help farmers take ownership of the soil agenda and work to make credible improvements.""
Whatever approach is taken, there are strong indications that cover crops can deliver Government aspirations to improve the health of the nation's soils for the next generation.