Ed McNamara

Goodhue, Minnesota

Goodhue Soil and Water Conservation District

Ed McNamara lives and farms with his wife Jane, three daughters, Megan, Abbey, and Molly, and son Sam near Goodhue, Minnesota. He has served as a supervisor on the Goodhue Soil and Water Conservation board since 1994, and has used no-till and mulch-till on his corn and soybean operation since 1997.

“For the past two years, we’ve been planting cover crops after our soybeans and terminating the winter tricale and harvesting for ‘wet hay’ the following spring,” Ed told NACD.

“I am still working on what combinations will work best for me. For instance, I’ve tried aerial seeding and drilling, but have found that drilling – directly after harvesting soybeans – has made for much better results,” Ed continued. “Our growing season doesn’t extend far into fall, so trying to get cover crops seeded early is a challenge. We are looking at ways to seed in V5 corn, hoping for better results.”

KDHL, a local radio station, invited Ed on their program to talk cover crops recently. Click the video below to hear Ed’s insights.

In the video below, Ed explains how he has adjusted his equipment to deal with corn stalks. Click “play” to hear how the turbo coulter on his planter can cut through corn residue and prevent it from hairpinning and how his Calmer BT Chopper rolls prevent tire damage from tough corn stalks.