No formal presentations, no slideshows and no need for microphones; just farmers sitting attentively under a tent in a freshly mowed alfalfa field on the Minnesota prairie wanting to learn how to improve their operation by using cover crops. That was the premise for the farmer-led field day held on July 15 hosted by the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) at the Ryan Hough farm east of Barnesville.  

The presenters and cover crop coaches such as Hough shared their experiences in finding practical ways to make cover crops be profitable and work with the rotations, soils and management practices of the region. 

“This event is important because farmers are thinking about soil health and soil practices, but maybe haven’t had a chance to try them yet or don’t know where to start,” said Maria Teresa Tancredi, CTIC Minnesota soil health specialist. “More than that they get to network with other farmers that they can rely on for help and suggestions and not be alone in the process.” 

The farmer-led presenters went through the trials and tribulations, various methods and equipment used and lessons learned while cover cropping over the years. Hough has been no-tilling his farming operation since 2015. He notes that one of the hardest lessons he’s learned over the last decade of no-tilling is dealing with the peer pressure and patience that comes with the territory. 

“We got made fun of quite a bit when we made these changes, but a lot of people who made fun are now implementing these same practices years later,” said Hough, who raises soybeans, corn, wheat, sunflowers and cattle. “And then there’s the patience required knowing it might be an extra day or two before you get in the field in the spring, but once we get going and then get shut down for a rain event, we’re typically able to get going sooner than others.” 

Hough took the participants on a walk to a nearby soybean field to showcase how a cover crop of oats has helped hold moisture in the soil even during a relatively dry summer on his farm. Another major advantage he’s seen from cover crops is the reduction of weed pressure. 

“So, anywhere we see bare soil in our fields, we see weeds coming still,” Hough said. “Where we have good residue cover, we do not have weed pressure.”  

While fellow cover crop coach and presenter Kenneth Packer takes a slightly different approach to farming, utilizing strip-tilling on his corn-soybean operation southwest of Barnesville, he too is a firm believer in cover crops to manage soil health.  

“I said to myself, ‘Why am I tilling this whole field when I don’t need to and I don’t want to?’” Packer said.  “It’s just going to blow away, it’s going to dry out and water hemps going to grow because I not only made the perfect seed bed for my crop but also waterhemp too.” 

Packer still deals with some of the same pest and disease issues that many other soybean farmers do as well, such as Iron Deficiency Chlorosis (IDC) and soybean cyst nematode, but he notes that cover crops are a strong line of defense.”  

“One of the things about living in the [Red River] Valley, if one guy has it you’re all going to have it because you share the wind and water and soil too,” Packer said. “Cover crops can help stop that spread.” 

Sharing their expertise from the retail point of view, TJ Kartes of Saddle Butte Ag and Bio Till Cover Crops discussed which varieties of cover crops work with what rotations and what to avoid and Adam Kuznia discussed what herbicides to use and their impact on the cover crops.  Kartes noted that rye grass is a push-bottom topic for him as a cover crop because it can be very effective in the north as long as producers take the right steps. 

“You gotta pick the right species at the right time, do it correctly and when it overwinters do the whole process of termination,” Kartes said. “If you don’t follow the right steps, you took a good product and made it a weed.” 

The CTIC Farmer-led field day is a part of the Farmers for Soil Health program, which is supported by the United Soybean Board, as well as the corn and pork checkoffs. This program aims to increase farmer adoption of soil health improvement practices by providing education aids, outreach materials and financial resources for the state commodity groups and other partners.  

The updated highlights of the FSH program in 2026, with technical support from CTIC, include:   

• Flexible one-year contracts  

• $35 per acre  

• All acres are eligible regardless of management practice from the previous year (no additionality)  

• 2,000-acre cap per FSA farm entity  

• Guided enrollment support with our soil health specialists  

• Farmer-to-farmer support network with CTIC’s Cover Crop Coach program  

• Stackable with many state, local and private-entity programs  

• Simple verification process  

The deadline for enrolling in FSH is Aug. 31, 2026.   

In addition, CTIC and the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association have partnered to promote soil health initiatives such as the Red River Farm Network’s Talking Conservation Podcast. CTIC is also seeking a soil health specialist for Minnesota. Click here for more information. The deadline to apply is July 24.