How much can you increase farm profitability and economic performance by growing two crops on the same soil at the same time?
Different plants use moisture and sunlight differently. It is common for our first thought to be about how plants compete with each other, but what if the opposite is actually the case? Can we develop cropping systems where different plants actually complement each other?
One of the producers who has experimented with this idea extensively on grain crops is Jason Mauck from Indiana. Jason is always testing and trying new ideas, but he has moved past the experimental stage with relay cropping and is observing results more growers should be familiar with. For relay cropping to be successful, design matters. Defining optimal crop spacing for best sunlight utilization and weed suppression is critical.
I enjoyed a very interesting conversation with Jason on the podcast, you can find the episode here.
Here are some photos of Jason’s farm:
