1. Cover crops: update on the Midwest cover crops council & current issues Green Lands Blue Waters Nov. 22, 2013 Matt Ruark UW-Madison Tom Kaspar USDA-ARS Ryan Stockwell NWF Jill Sackett UMN Extension

2. 2013 Update • Activities of the Midwest Cover Crops Council • State-level Nutrient Reduction Strategies • Industry & USDA funded research • National Wildlife Federation

3. Mwccc website • 21,276 unique visitors • 33,973 total visits • 108,175 page views • 123 countries • All 50 states • 383 users on Listserv • 233 likes on Facebook

4. Cover crop selector tool • Number of hits

5. Cover crop selector tool Field crop selector tool • 3,001 visits • 2,211 unique visitors • 42 countries Vegetable crop selector tool • 1,334 visits • 1,138 unique visitors • 27 countries • Expansion – northeastern US, eastern Canada

6. Cover crop Field Guide • 26,841 copies printed • $5 each https://ag.purdue.edu/agry/dtc/Pages/CCFG.aspx

7. 2013 MCCC meeting • Making Sen$e with Cover Crops Workshop • February 28 & March 1, 2013 – London, ON • http://www.mccc.msu.edu/MCCCmeeting.html

8. National conference in Omaha

9. Cover crops & state level nutrient reduction strategies

10. Cover crops & state level nutrient reduction strategies

11. Cover crops as part of USDA AFRI-CAP grants Corn-CAP • www.sustainablecorn.org Dairy-CAP • www.sustainabledairy.org

12. North central soybean research program • Understanding cover crop use in soybean production systems • PI: Dale Mutch, coPI: Dean Baas • Co-investigators: • Eileen Kladivko – Purdue University • Shaun Casteel – Purdue University • Tom Kaspar – USDA-ARS • Don Wyse – Univ. Minnesota • Jim Hoorman – Ohio State Univ. • Richard Hoormann – Univ. Missouri • David Clay - SDSU • Sharon Clay - SDSU • Matt Ruark – Univ. Wisconsin

13. North central soybean research program Research objectives: • Conduct surveys and interviews with soybean farmers (cover crop users and non-users) about cover crop use and determine what information farmers need. • Collaborate with MCCC members and other interested researchers to develop a management guide for cover crop use & soybean production. • Assess and prioritize future research needs to increase cover crop use in soybean production for the North Central Soybean Research Program.

14. National Wildlife Federation • Hiring of Sarah Carlson • Washington DC Fly-In • Cover crop champions • Addressing cover crop and crop insurance issues

15. Other big issues • 2013 Prevent Plant • Increase in aerial seeding • Future of MCCC leadership