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Sustainable Agriculture Literature Review - Boulder County

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Figure 19: Potential Disadvantages of Cover Crops 405<br />

Opportunity costs of income forgone by planting a cover crop instead of cash crops may<br />

be the highest costs associated with cover crops. For this reason, cover crops are rarely<br />

grown when cash crop alternatives are possible. 406 Spring soil temperature is particularly<br />

important in cover crop and conservation tillage systems. Cover crop residues keep the<br />

soil cooler, which benefits the cash crops throughout the summer, but can delay spring<br />

planting compared to a system without a cover crop because soil temperatures need to<br />

be warmer. This was shown in a study conducted in Northern Colorado, where reduced<br />

corn yields were reported for no-till compared to conventional tillage within a continuous<br />

corn production system due to cooler soil temperatures and slower plant development in<br />

407, 408<br />

the no-till system.<br />

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