Cover crop management requires planning termination methods and timing, you can maximize the benefits of cover crops while ensuring optimal conditions for the following crop. Various termination methods offer different advantages depending on your specific needs and environmental conditions.

If you haven’t already implemented a cover crop, consider the benefits of adding one to your rotation. Cover crops enhance soil health, improve water management, and address issues like compaction. By understanding and effectively managing termination methods, you can unlock the full potential of cover crops, profitable, and productive farming practices.

Let’s explore the various options for post-harvest cover crops to promote resilience in your system.

TERMINATION
Termination is integral to planning for a successful cover crop within your rotation. You want to maximize the benefits of the cover crop, while also setting up the following crop for success. When considering termination methods, it is important to determine the right method and timing to achieve your desired goals.

Natural: If you are using an annual cover crop blend, you can take a hands-off approach and let the crop naturally die through the winter months. The success of this sustainable method depends heavily on the snow cover and temperature conditions. Selecting annual species for your cover crop blend instead of perennials will also allow you to manage them this way.

Herbicide: An herbicide application completed at the right volume/stage of the cover crop is an effective method of termination. Make sure to put time into selecting the correct herbicide that will target not only the desiccation of the cover crop but also the weed species that are present.

Mechanical: To incorporate the cover crop residue back into the soil, you can complete a vertical tillage pass. This method speeds up the breakdown of plant residue, but can also require more than one pass to get control of the biomass.

If you are looking for a method with less soil disturbance, a roller-crimper implement is an effective option. This creates a protective residue layer that shields the soil through the winter months. This method has the greatest impact on soil health once the cover crop species has flowered.

Livestock: Livestock can terminate the cover crop with fall and/or early winter grazing. Not only do you benefit from terminating your cover crop stand, but the added nutrients from livestock manure while grazing help to improve the soil.

SCOUTING
Crop scouting is one of the most important activities you can invest time in to mitigate pests and protect yields. Frequent scouting ensures timely and effective decisions are made. It also allows you to learn about the productivity of your soil. Here are some scouting tips to help you monitor the health and success of your cover crop.

Tools needed for scouting and/or biomass testing:
• Shovel
• Scissors/pocketknife
• Collection bags
• Square foot frame

What to look for when crop scouting:
Nodules: Dig up some plants in your field deep enough to expose the root system. On the roots of leguminous/N-fixing plant species, knobs form on the roots. Nodules serve the purpose of nitrogen fixation.

If a nodule is pink when sliced open, it indicates active nitrogen fixation. Conversely, if there is no color it indicates dormant or inactive nodules. Terminating a legume cover crop once the nodules are pink (N-fixation can be high approximately 30 days after establishment up to the end of flowering) will release fixed nitrogen into the soil for the next growing season.

• Present species and weed pressure: Use a square foot frame to count cover crop species and weeds present. Successful cover crop establishment should show minimal weed presence due to competition created. These findings can help determine seeding rates for the following crop year if ground coverage needs to be adjusted.
  • You can also take this one step further and cut the plants within the frame to send them away for biomass testing. Choose the lab in advance so you have the correct protocol for gathering and sending the plant tissue sample.

• Quantity and depth of roots: The crop sown next growing season will follow the root paths the previous cover crop left behind. If the roots have bends or curves, that could indicate a compaction layer. Note if the cover crop roots are growing though heavy layers or not. This information can help determine what types of cover crop species to grow in the future to deal with different goals such as compaction.

IF YOU DIDN‘T GROW A COVER CROP, consider planting one
In all climates, but certainly in milder climates, after small grains is a great time to utilize a cover crop in your cropping system. To maximize this window, it is essential to have your plan in place. This is because the best time to seed your cover crop is right after harvest, ideally before a timely rain. The earlier your cover crop is established the greater the opportunity for soil health benefits and biomass generation. Three considerations you should make to maximize benefits are selecting a cover crop seed mixture that reflects your soil needs, assessing weather impacts, and determining which crop you are planting next.

One effective way to decide what cover crop species or mixes to go with is as easy as going out in your field with a spade, digging, and examining your soil. It is important to listen to your soil. Your soils will tell you information about your operation. If you notice salts which look like white specs or have areas that are problematic water areas, you may want to work on water management within your soil profile. In this case you most likely want to look at a grass crop, small grain, or cereal rye which can over winter and continue to utilize water. If you are noticing compaction layers out in your field, you may want to focus on compaction. Perhaps in this situation you may want to seed a cover crop mix which may include a diverse group of grasses, oats, etc. While also incorporating a radish or turnip which would allow for the natural force of these plants to bust up compaction. If you notice a lack of aggregation in your soil perhaps you want to focus on building aggregation. To help build aggregation you may want to plant a cover crop mix including a variety of species including ones with deep fibrous root systems to promote a healthy environment for soil biology.

Weather is another important consideration when selecting to plant a cover crop post-harvest. In a wet year you may want to plant a diverse cover crop mix that will utilize moisture from throughout the soil profile. As well as utilizing excess moisture promoting the resilience of your farm. If the opposite is true in a dry season and moisture is at a premium. It is important to consider if you have the moisture available to establish your cover crop.

Finally, remember the crop you plan to follow the cover crop with. It is important to keep this in mind as you do not want to plant something that will cause issues down the line. A couple of items to note are potential diseases that could be detrimental to your next crop that your cover crop could be a host for. Also consider grain contamination that could occur from growing something like rye on a field intended to go into small grain production.

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Triticale is a hybrid of wheat and rye first bred in the 1950s.

Triticale is a hybrid of wheat and rye first bred in the 1950s. Triticale retains the robust and disease-resistant qualities of rye while offering advantages for milling and baking also found in wheat.

Versatile Applications

Triticale, with its clean aroma and flavor, is a versatile grain viable for use in a wide variety of sweet and savory products. The mild flavor of this component, a subtle blend of nutty and earthy, can effectively enhance the textural and nutritive properties of products without detracting from the overall impact on the palate.

Triticale is also versatile in that it can be utilized in a variety of forms. As a flour, it creates a moist, chewy, dense texture for breads, cookies, muffins, and bars. When used in flake form, it functions similarly to rolled oats, particularly effective as hot cereal or in cookie or muffin recipes that typically require oats. Whole triticale berries—comprised of the grain’s most nutritive elements, germ, bran, and endosperm—offer a texture similar to that of sunflower seed kernels ideal for breads, granolas, salads, waffles, and more.

High Nutritional Value

Triticale is highly nutritious, rich in protein and dietary fiber as well as minerals and vitamins, such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, thiamin, and folate. It is also free of cholesterol and trans-fatty acids, making it ideal for health food applications. When ground into a meal, triticale can be used to add nutritional value to smoothies, batters, or doughs. Because triticale contains no animal byproducts, it can also be used in vegan food products.

Grain Millers’ Promise: Quality, Custom Products & Service

At Oegema Grains, we provide whole and rolled triticale in Organic, Non-GMO, and Conventional forms. With our single-source advantage, we are positioned to provide our partners with quality ingredients, tailored formulations, and personalized expertise in research and development of new products.

If you would like to request a sample or further discuss Oegema Grains’ triticale products and applications, we would love the opportunity to speak with you. We specialize in partnering with food and beverage developers to create unique, innovative ingredients that help you succeed.

Email us or give us a call at 541.687.8000 to get in contact with an expert.

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Although oats are naturally gluten-free, they can become contaminated by gluten-containing grains as the supply moves from the field, to on-farm storage, to trucks and railcars and eventually through the mill. In 2008, Oegema Grains began pioneering a proprietary gluten-free oat production process, giving us the ability to remove gluten-containing grains from the oat stream and offering the purest possible oat products. Thus meeting nutritional desires and dietary needs of the growing gluten-free consumer base.

In 2008, Oegema Grains began pioneering a proprietary gluten-free oat production process…

After installation of our gluten-free milling system, it wasn’t as simple as notifying the industry we now had gluten-free oat products. The certification process involved multiple on-site visits and nearly 1,000 individual samples. Our gluten-free milling flow was audited from top to bottom for its ability to produce oat products that met the FDA’s standards time and time again. We completed the certification with the help of BRCGS, utilizing their Gluten-Free Management System. We continue to operate this system with same stringent checkpoints and robust sampling procedures we used to achieve our certification.

Why Gluten-Free Oats?

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and crossbreeds such as triticale (a hybrid of wheat and rye). Celiac disease; a genetic autoimmune disease that limits a person’s ability to digest gluten, affects 1 in 100 people worldwide. It is estimated that another 6-7% of the population may have a sensitivity or intolerance to gluten. In an effort to regulate the food system, the FDA set a limit of 20 parts per million (ppm) for the unavoidable presence of gluten in foods that are labeled as “gluten-free.” This amount is so low that it is tolerated by most people with Celiac disease.

Gluten-Free Oats Production Process

Oegema Grains’ gluten-free oats are processed in a way that effectively removes all wheat, barley, rye and hybridized grains that may possibly arrive at our facilities with the oats. Through our dedicated gluten-free cleaning process, we isolate a highly pure groat stream that is further purified and refined in our dedicated gluten-free milling system. (A groat is the nutritious grain of an oat after its outer husk has been removed. Groats are rolled into the “rolled oats” that we know and love).

Oegema Grains dedicated gluten-free milling system took years to develop and perfect, and we regard it as Top Secret! Although the machinery we use in the process are important, our team of mill operators are a vital part of the process, responsible for monitoring and adjusting the equipment. Our millers have been educated about celiac disease and have been trained on both Oegema Grains gluten-free milling practices and the specifics of gluten-free testing.

Oegema Grains dedicated gluten-free milling system took years to develop and perfect, and we regard it as Top Secret!

Our dedicated mill operators would tell you they could not perform their duties without the help of our lab staff who are responsible for verifying all gluten-free samples meet our <10ppm gluten specification. Our lab staff performs the rigors of gluten-free testing in dedicated gluten-free clean rooms.

How Does the Gluten-Free Equipment Work?

While cleaning and purifying grain stream is simple in concept, there’s a lot that goes into deploying this technology to and repeatedly achieves the desired results. We like to think that there are equal parts art and science that go into configuring and operating grain cleaning systems. So, we don’t know whether to call our millers artists or scientists, but in reality, they are a little bit of both. We’ll just settle on calling them awesome!

Our 4-generations of oat milling experience led us to believe we could achieve <10ppm on every load of oats from any of our dedicated farmers and the installation of our gluten-free lines and their continued performance has a proven this to be true. Our record of achieving gluten-free results through processing was proven to exceed that of the Purity Protocol strategy of excluding the presence of gluten-containing grains only at the farm and transportation levels of the supply chain. 

Our 4-generations of oat milling experience led us to believe we could achieve <10ppm on every load of oats from any of our dedicated farmers…

In direct cross-examination of Purity Protocol gluten-free oats and Oegema Grains gluten-free oats, a 2018 study completed by the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America showed Oegema Grains’ gluten-free oats in the table below. During the completion the study Oegema Grains gluten-free products were analyzed using a ≈70% larger sample pool than that of the Purity Protocol gluten-free products. A copy of that study is available here for download.

Seed cleaning of grains has existed for decades if not centuries. In order for farm purity programs to be successful, harvested grain which will be used for seed in upcoming crop years, periodically requires cleaning to mitigate increased contamination levels other grains and weed seeds in subsequent crops. With our knowledge that oats are routinely purified for seed planting, we thought, “Why not then also for consumption?”

Oegema Grains Oats Exceed Gluten-Free Regulations

In addition to rigorous process, we take samples of the gluten-free groat stream every 3 minutes of production to further ensure that it is pure. In order for oats to be certified gluten-free, gluten levels must be less than .002% or 20 ppm.

Our goal was never to merely meet the strict regulatory limit of 20 ppm—we wanted to see just how pure we could get our oat products! We’ve perfected our gluten-free production process to the point where most of our customers depend on us to supply oat ingredients that are less than 10 ppm–a 100% improvement in the purity level required for gluten-free labeling.

Gluten-Free Oat Production Doubled

The need for certified gluten-free oats has continued to rise. In response, we have invested in a major expansion at our oat mill in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada. This expansion has more than tripled our gluten-free production capacity, giving us one of the most advanced oat mills in the world strategically located in the heart of some of the most fertile oat acreage in North America. We can depend on our local oat farmers to supply us with the best oats on the continent that we care for and mill into the highest quality gluten-free oats from Oegema Grains, they are receiving much more than a standard oat-based ingredient. As with all our products, the work we do producing gluten-free products is more than processing, it’s our promise.

Other Gluten-Free Grains and Seeds

Oegema Grains offers many other grains, seeds, and pulses that are naturally gluten-free. These ingredients can be great alternatives to gluten-containing grains. They do not encounter gluten throughout their process and do not require any additional processing to ensure they are gluten-free.

• Corn, corn meal, corn flour, corn grits, corn bran
• Flax, flax meal
• Brown and white long-grain rice
• Soybeans (non-GMO natto, white hilum, high protein)
• Quinoa (white, red, black, tricolor)
• Tapioca starch
• Amaranth
• Lentils (green, brown, black, split red)
• Mustard (brown, yellow)
• Pumpkin seeds
• Sunflower seeds
• Chia seeds
• Sesame seeds

In addition to being a gluten free oat supplier, Oegema Grains also offers certifications such as organically certified, non-GMO, kosher, and halal.

We specialize in partnering with food and beverage developers to create unique, innovative ingredients that help you succeed. If you have questions about our gluten-free ingredients, or anything else, we’re always happy to help you.

Email us or give us a call at 519.633.0075 to get in contact with an expert.

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