Aerial crop seeding of cover crops is becoming increasingly popular. Here an area corn field is seeded with rye grass for the winter season. (Submitted photo courtesy of Integrated AG Services)
VIDEO — Local farmer to seed from the sky
- Published: August 30, 2013
The small, low-flying aircraft that will soon buzz area farm fields are nothing to worry about, according to local farmer Jim Clem. At this time of year, the planes aren’t spraying pesticides but spreading seeds in an effort to plant cover crops that will improve the soil.
For the second year, Clem will use aerial crop seeding in fields with standing corn and soybean plants to establish a winter cover crop of annual rye grass before the fall harvest. Over the winter, the rye grass will “put a blanket on the soil” to protect it from erosion by wind and water and will also increase its organic matter, improve its structure and reduce soil compaction, according to a letter Clem delivered to his neighbors. The fields will be green all winter long.
Clem and his son, Brian, farm much of the land surrounding Yellow Springs, including at Whitehall farm across from Ellis Park and a 100-acre tract just north of the village on East Enon Road. Residents can expect to see the planes in both areas sometime in the next two months. A plane can seed a 100-acre field in about 20 minutes, according to Dave Schneiderer of Integrated AG Services, a local consulting firm.
Clem, a Tecumseh Land Trust board member is featured in a video on aerial crop seeding produced by Integrated AG Services:
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