Sorghum Sudan after Wheat Harvest
While most farmers have purchased their corn and soybeans, they may not have purchased cover crop seed grown after wheat harvest. Now is the time to start making decisions on buying seed, because cover crop seed supplies are in short supply. The most common question I get on cover crops is: What is the best cover crop? It depends on what you want to accomplish. My favorite cover crop after wheat is Sorghum Sudan (SS) grass. Why? Because SS grass reduces soil compaction and improves soil structure, it adds carbon or soil organic matter (SOM), and it is a supplemental forage crop for beef, dairy, and sheep. Livestock eat it like candy! On our heavy clay soils (Paulding, Toledo, Hoytville) in Putnam County, SS grass has the ability to increase water infiltration, reduce water runoff and decrease ponding water. In the last 50 to 100 years, we have lost almost 60% of our soil organic matter, so by growing another crop, farmers can greatly increase their SOM levels. After wheat harvest is a