Intercropping w/ Forage Soybeans
Connecting Farmers To Soil Health
New for 2023!
We are excited to launch a new intercrop seed variety that we’ve been working on for some time – our new forage soybean. Intercropping corn with our herbicide-tolerant forage soybeans will produce better feed for your cattle in the short-term, improve soil health in the long-term, and ease herbicide management challenges.
About our forage soybean
What makes forage soybeans different from grain soybeans is they stay vegetative longer. The bean we use does not trigger reproduction until 100+ days, whereas a grain soybean triggers reproduction around the summer solstice.
Why is this important? When a plant is in a vegetative state instead of a reproductive (flowering) state, it is focussed on capturing sunlight energy and releasing a portion of that into the soil to feed the soil microbes. Forage soybeans are a legume so that means when it’s vegetative we're feeding the rhizobium bacteria that's responsible for capturing nitrogen out of the atmosphere.
For detailed information on our new forage soybean seed, check out the Forage Soybean section of our Intercrop Library.
Benefits of intercropping with our forage soybeans
Tolerant to herbicide
Accumulates biomass and fixes nitrogen throughout the growing season without competing with the corn crop
Protects the soil from hot summer temperatures
Prevents topsoil loss from wind and water erosion
Provides high protein biomass for grazing after silage or corn harvest
Reduced cost when used as a winter feed due to higher protein levels
Increases residual nitrogen available in the soil for next year’s corn crop
Balances the C:N ratio of the soil
Improves water infiltration and water holding capacity
Improved soil structure and biology
Planting Best Practices
For best germination and growth potential:
Seed one to two days before corn planting
Sow at ¾” depth with a drill
Apply herbicide as pre-emergence burnoff for weed management
Apply up to two in-crop glyphosate passes if part of your farm’s herbicide management plan
NOTE: Ideal direction to seed is north/south to allow the sunlight to reach the soybean throughout the growing season
Harvest and feed considerations
The soybean can be harvested for silage with your corn stover and the residue can be used for additional grazing. By adding the low energy/high protein forage soybean to the high energy/low protein corn, your cattle can balance their ration more effectively, increasing grazing efficiency and palatability.
Corn silage usually runs between seven and eight percent protein. In our intercropping trials, we saw our forage soybean add about 1.5% protein to the corn silage. This can make a big difference in reducing winter feed costs.
You can also choose to leave the residue behind as soil cover to break down and feed the soil biology for the next year. Check out our video below for more details on this great intercrop pairing:
The science behind intercropping corn with forage soybean
The corn establishes early, it grows taller and its roots go deeper than the forage soybean so it is not affected by the soybean growth. Intercropping soybeans between the corn rows captures sunlight that would have otherwise been hitting the soil surface (particularly when planting rows in a north/south direction). The soybeans are in position to capture whatever sunlight the corn doesn't.
Corn is a high carbon and low nitrogen plant which we balance with forage soybean which is a low carbon and high nitrogen plant. This balanced carbon to nitrogen ratio gives the soil biology a balanced energy and protein source. Now the soil biology can build stable soil aggregates, creating a high functioning soil which infiltrates water better, captures more nitrogen, and effectively breaks down plant residue.
In our trials, we were seeing substantial amounts of residual nitrogen - up to 50 pounds per acre. Every pound of nitrogen we can grow ourselves is a pound of nitrogen we don’t have to purchase.
How to order
We have a limited supply of our herbicide-tolerant forage soybean seed for the 2023 season, so reach out to your local dealer or contact us to get your order in by March 1, 2023. We also offer financing through Scotiabank to ease the cash flow burden for producers.
And if you’re in Alberta, Saskatchewan or Manitoba, don’t forget to apply for funding support. Farms implementing best management practices like cover cropping and intercropping may be eligible for up to $35/acre of government funding through the On-Farm Climate Action Fund. More details are on the website here.