Spring Seeding Cover Crops to Help Recover Flood-Damaged Fields

Cover crops planted in late winter or very early spring can help barren, flood-damaged fields start to recover.  Plant roots will anchor the soil, helping prevent sandblasing and wind and water erosion.  The growing roots also will help feed the soil biological life, especially arbuscular mychorrhizae fungi.

Read more about using early-planted cover crops, including crop selection and seeding rates, seeding methods, and the importance of timely termination of the cover crop in a recent CropWatch article.

Farming after the Flood Webinar — Farmer Perspectives, Agency Resources

Learn about flood recovery resources and programs available through NRCS, FSA, RMA, and the Army Corps of Engineers in a multi-state webinar recorded December 14 and now available online.

Representatives of state and federal offices joined with university extension to offer a 2 1/2-hour webinar for farmers and landowners affected by the 2011 Missouri River flood.  In addition to the government representatives, two farmers (one from Nebraska and one from Iowa) shared their experiences in repairing the physical and biological properties of their fields.  

View the topics and presenters and listen to individual webinar segments.

Following are resources which may be helpful to reference as you review information from the program.

• View Farming after the Flood Webinar Segments

• Program Agenda, Contact Information, and Speaker Websites

• Farmer Panel Presentation (Powerpoint)

• Presentations from State and Federal Offices (Powerpoint)

• Fact Sheet & Resources

The webinar will be posted to the Web for later viewing and will be linked from this page.

Archived Webinar I: Flood Recovery for Cropland

The Webinar — Flood Recovery for Cropland — has been archived on-line and is now available in the following segments:

• Flood Information for Crop Lands Introduction  —  Rick Koelsch, UNL associate dean of extension
• Sedimentation and Debris Removal — Shawn Shouse. ISU Extension Agricultural Engineer
• Managing Post Flooding Soils — Mahdi Al-Kaisi, ISU Extension Soil Management/Environment Specialist
• Cover Crops for Soil Health  — Paul Jasa, UNL Extension Engineer
• Flooded Crops, Insurance Payments, and Lease Contracts — William Edwards, ISU Extension Economist
• Webinar Q&A plus follow-up Q&A from all four speakers

To submit your questions to a panel of extension faculty and staff in Iowa and Nebraska, use the Ask an Expert link on this page.

For a list of viewing sites and local contacts, see related story.

ISU and UNL Fact Sheets on Post-Flooding Cropland

• Repairing Flood-Damaged Farm Fields
• Flooded Soil Syndrome
• Cover Crops for Soil Health
• Flood-Damaged Crops, Crop Insurance Payments, and Lease Contracts

Additional Resources

CropWatch

• Management Considerations for Post Flooding Soils (Nov. 8, 2011 CropWatch)
• From Devastation to Recovery — It's a Long Road for Flooded Farmers  (Oct. 21-28, CropWatch photo story)
• As Flood Waters Recede in Southeast Nebrasaka (Oct. 10, 2011, CropWatch photo story)

Nebraska Department of Agriculture 2011 Flooding Information

USDA Farm Service Agency programs are available to assist with the impact and recovery from the floods. including the

• SURE program (PDF file, 346KB)
• Non-insured Crop Disaster Assistance program (PDF file, 302KB)
• Emergency Conservation Program (PDF file, 125KB)

Flooding and Stored Grain, Iowa State University fact sheet

Agriculture Issues after a Flood, EDEN Extension Disaster Education Network