Welcome

Submitted by Jeremiah Ulmer, NRCS Soil Conservationist

 

Welcome summer! This time of year, we get many questions about the germination requirements of any purchased seed or carryover seed one may be using for NRCS/FSA cost-share programs.

 

Germination testing is important to help assure that proper seeding rates are being planted. When seed is sold, seed laws in each state specify a limit for the age of a germination test. These requirements also apply to seed used for NRCS and FSA cost-share programs. When a producer purchases seed, they should verify that germination testing dates meet their state seed law and NRCS/FSA program rules. For the state of North Dakota, native grasses and forbs are 12 months. Commodity crops are nine months. Lawn and turf grass is 15 months.

 

Seed that is stored or carried over by a producer also needs to meet the germination testing standard. Seed vendors are aware of testing requirements, but it is easy to forget about retesting older purchased seed stored in a bin or shop. Seed lots with test dates that do not meet the standard need to have a new germination test run by an accredited seed testing lab (a tetrazolium test is not an acceptable substitute for a germination test).

 

Even if germination testing is not required, a new test may be warranted if seed has been improperly stored. Heat and high humidity can greatly reduce germination and are the major killers of stored seed. Germination tests for grass and forb species generally take 14 to 28 days, so it is important to plan ahead before putting the seed in the ground.

 

This time of year, many producers are also contemplating the addition of cover crops into their rotation. Here are some of the benefits of planting cover crops:

1. Cover crops will reduce soil moisture deeper into soil profile by evapotranspiration resulting in better tillage and traffic conditions. Improved soil structure and stability can improve the soil’s capacity to withstand heavy farm equipment, resulting in less subsurface compaction.

2. Cover crops will reduce or mitigate soil compaction. Deep tap roots of some cover crops grown in the fall and spring when compacted layers are relatively soft and can penetrate these layers.

3. A cover crop will increase soil quality by improving the biological, chemical, and physical soil properties.

4. The protective canopy formed by a cover crop reduces the impact of rain drops on the soil surface thereby decreasing the breakdown of soil aggregates. This greatly reduces soil erosion and runoff and increases infiltration.

5. Decreased soil loss and runoff translates to reduced transport of valuable nutrients, pesticides, herbicides, and harmful pathogens associated with manure from farmland that degrade the quality of streams, rivers and water bodies and pose a threat to human health.

 

 

 

Dates to Remember:

• July 4 – Office Closed, Independence Day

• July 9 – SCD Board Meeting, 9 am, USDA Service Center, Ellendale

• July 15, July 29, August 6, August 20, Sept. 9, Sept. 24 – 6:30 pm, evening tours of Ol’ Nursery, Oakes.

• July 31, 2025 – JRSCD Scholarship Application deadline

For more information contact the James River Soil Conservation District and Ellendale NRCS office at 349-3653, ext. 3. Our field office is in Ellendale at 51 N. 1st Street. Also, remember to visit the James River Soil Conservation District Facebook page and our websites for more information –http://www.jamesriverscd.org/ and http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/nd/home/. The NRCS is an equal opportunity employer, provider and lender.