Wisconsin is seeing a renewed interest in planting cover crops to prevent soil erosion, retain or add nutrients, reduce pest pressures and accomplish other goals. Farmers and educators are asking questions about which cover crops to plant, how to fit them into different cropping systems and what equipment is needed to plant and manage them.

This case study presents the experience of a Wisconsin vegetable grower who has been growing cover crops for more than ten years. He describes his philosophy of cover crop use and offers his perspectives on what cover crop strategies have and have not worked on his farm, what benefits he receives from growing cover crops and how he manages these crops. Farmers and researchers can use this information as a starting point to explore how they might develop cover crop systems to fit their situations and meet their own goals.