A survey conducted for the Ontario Cover Crops Steering Committee aims to improve understanding around levels of cover crop use in Ontario.
The survey is open to the end of March.
Callum Morrison, a PhD student at the University of Manitoba is conducting the survey on behalf of the Ontario group. A Prairie survey on cover crops over the past couple of years has a growing number of respondents.
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“There is a lot more information out there for people in Ontario than the Prairies, but there are still gaps in knowledge about how cover crops are being done,” said Morrison.
It’s hoped that both farmers who use cover crops and those who do not will fill out the survey as it will help to better understand the barriers to cover crop use. Morrison is also looking for crop and livestock farmers.
About 300 farmers from Ontario have already filled out the survey and so far results show that winter wheat is the crop most likely to be followed by a cover crop at 65 per cent of respondents. Soybeans were followed by a cover crop by 24 per cent of respondents and grain corn by 16 per cent of respondents.
So far oats are the most used cover crop, followed by fall rye and radish, says Morrison.
The survey can be found at surveymonkey.com/r/OntarioCoverCrop.
