The practices are complementary, said Dan Andersen, an associate professor in the ag and biosystems engineering department at Iowa State University (ISU) specializing in manure management.

“It’s definitely an opportunity that all livestock facilities should think about taking advantage of,” he said. “I think manure is a great resource for us, but we have to keep it in place for when our crops need it. Cover crops are a great tool to make sure it really is there to help support our crop production.” 

Andersen pointed out that a benefit of using cover crops is providing soil structure, allowing a farmer to access his or ...