Why Cover Crop After Maize?

This season is the first where growing a cover crop after maize is funded under the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 2024, offering £203/ha under the action code SOH4. If you were fortunate enough to get this into a scheme before it closed then great; however, if you didn’t, there are still plenty of reasons why you should consider planting one.

Maize stubbles are among the most vulnerable sites for soil loss and nutrient leaching. Harvest is often late in the year, soils can be compacted by heavy machinery and bare ground is left exposed over winter. A well-designed cover crop is one of the most effective ways to protect soil health and capture value in this period.

The benefits of cover cropping after maize

I am sure you are well aware of the soil benefits cover crops can bring, but to recap:

• Soil retention – reduce bare soil over winter, protecting valuable topsoil from erosion. When it’s gone, it’s gone!

• Nutrient holding – retain the nutrients you have applied throughout the year in the field, reducing leaching losses.

• Soil conditioning – roots do the work of cultivators, improving soil structure and porosity.

• Solar interception – capture light energy to feed soil biology at a time when fields would otherwise be bare.

• Nutrient fixation – legumes such as vetch fix atmospheric nitrogen, improving soil fertility.

• Weed suppression – dense ground cover limits light for weeds, reducing the seed bank for next year.

These benefits are well documented in both UK and European research, and the SFI SOH4 option has been designed to encourage more widespread adoption.

Our recommended approach to SOH4

Our flagship mix for SOH4 combines triticale and hairy vetch.

Our specific triticale variety, developed in New Zealand, has the ability to grow fast in colder conditions. This gives good levels of biomass to protect the soil and can very much be used for forage. Traditionally, forage rye has been the go-to choice, but our variety of triticale has shown to deliver over 1 tonne more dry matter (DM) per hectare than forage rye in trials. Early UK demonstrations suggest the same trend, particularly in cooler, wetter autumns.

Hairy vetch complements this by fixing nitrogen, improving soil fertility, and offering good cold tolerance. It also balances the C:N ratio of residues, producing a more nutritious early spring forage with higher protein levels than cereals alone.

It is key not to underestimate the value of cover crops as grazeable forage crops, particularly in a dry year like this year. Sown September/October, the grazing window is most likely going to be in late winter or early spring. This allows your livestock to be turned out onto the cover crop first, giving permanent pastures a longer rest. Resting fields in this way is key to optimising forage production across the whole farm.

Why not radishes and clovers?

Sowing covers after maize is usually done in September through to October, depending on the season and how early maturing your maize variety is. At this time of year, conditions are typically getting cooler and damper, and radishes and clovers may struggle to establish as days draw in. By contrast, cereals like triticale and legumes like hairy vetch are more resilient, germinate quickly and deliver meaningful above-ground biomass even in challenging conditions. Our SFI SOH4 mix has been designed with resilience in mind.

Practical recommendations

We recommend a seed rate of at least 40kg/ha due to the cover crops’ growing habits. Triticale grows more erect compared to rye, so a higher seed rate will give you better soil coverage. Trials in New Zealand have also shown that it is an excellent scavenger of nutrients throughout winter months, helping reduce losses and feed the following crop.

Fields after maize are often in declining condition, so even if you are not receiving SFI payment, I always advise planting a cover crop to restore soil function and protect yield potential.

What about grain maize?

For grain maize growers, harvest typically doesn’t happen until November, which makes establishing a cover crop afterwards highly unlikely. In this situation, undersowing maize may be a realistic option to provide winter cover and reduce soil and nutrient losses. Early cover establishment provides reassurance, but requires careful management to avoid competition with the maize crop. The SFI SOH4 action is best suited to forage and anaerobic digestion (AD) maize systems, but grain maize growers should assess soil suitability, variety choice and undersowing options. Read more about undersowing and companion cropping (CIPM3 / IPM3) with a range of crops here.

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💡 We are excited to be able to offer this particular variety of triticale, and in combination with vetch, we are confident that it will deliver a good return on investment. Contact us today on 01480 890686 to discuss your seed requirements.