Cover Crops

Before You Apply Nitrogen: Account for the N Already in the Field

Nitrogen fertilizer is an important input for many crops, but it is not always the only source of nitrogen available in the field. Legume cover crops, manure, compost, and residual nitrogen from previous manure applications can all contribute nitrogen to the crop. If these sources are not accounted for, more fertilizer may be applied than the crop requires, increasing input costs and reducing nitrogen use efficiency. To make this easier, Perennia has developed two new

bayetan2026-10-02T18:21:11+00:00October 2, 2026|Categories: Agronomist, Cover Crops, Nitrogen Management, Nova Scotia, OFCAF, Perennia, Uncategorized|

On-Farm Climate Action Fund for Nova Scotia is Open

We are very happy to announce that the On-Farm Climate Action Fund for Nova Scotia is open. As many of you are aware, the On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF) is part of the Government of Canada's Agricultural Climate Solutions, a multi-stream program to help farmers tackle climate change. This is a great opportunity to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon on a national scale, in our home province, and on your own farm

2025-05-29T12:31:42+00:00May 29, 2025|Categories: Agronomist, Climate Change, Cover Crops, Funding, Nitrogen Management, Nova Scotia, OFCAF, Perennia, Rotational Grazing|

OFCAF Announcement and Upcoming Winter OFCAF Events

Hello folks and happy snowstorm to you all, If you are looking for some winter learning opportunities, we have been teaming up with local industry groups to support sessions related to the three beneficial management practices of OFCAF. Also, as you may have heard, OFCAF has been announced for another three years! With this announcement, our team and AAFC are working hard to update the program requirements for the 2025 - 2026 year. Applications

2025-02-13T18:13:20+00:00February 13, 2025|Categories: Cover Crops, Nitrogen Management, OFCAF, Rotational Grazing|

You are Invited to the OFCAF Field Day!
You are Invited to the OFCAF Field Day!

You are Invited to the OFCAF Field Day!

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying these beautiful late summer days. The Perennia Ag Services team is hosting a Field Day for the OFCAF BMPs. Our extension team will showcase six demonstration plots including intercropping legumes in corn, forage recovery, understanding marigolds as a cover crop and more. This is a great opportunity to receive your OFCAF education credits or CCA credits and chat with our team about the BMPs. There are also a

2024-09-11T13:37:41+00:00September 11, 2024|Categories: Cover Crops, Nitrogen Management, OFCAF, Rotational Grazing|

Application Update April 2024

The OFCAF application deadline for the Spring 2024 intake will be closing April 12th, 2024. This is a reminder to folks to fully complete and send their application by this Friday For any questions around the three beneficial management practices and applying them to your farm contact Georgia Lewis at glewis@perennia.ca or 902-670-9655 For questions surrounding the application itself and eligible criteria contact Helene Arenburg at harenburg@perennia.ca or Sarah Wood at swood@perennia.ca We are looking

2024-04-08T15:17:53+00:00April 8, 2024|Categories: Cover Crops, Nitrogen Management, OFCAF, Rotational Grazing, Uncategorized|

A Brief Introduction and Update

Happy Friday Folks As this is my first blog post, please allow me to introduce myself as the new OFCAF team member here at Perennia, my name is Georgia Lewis.  I grew up in Kingston, Nova Scotia and graduated from the NSAC in 2014. I am very excited to be part of the Perennia team and to be working hand in hand with farmers and industry within our Atlantic region. Last weekend I was

2023-11-27T18:13:00+00:00November 24, 2023|Categories: Climate Change, Cover Crops, Nitrogen Management, OFCAF|

Best Management Practices in Greenhouse Soils with Judson Reid
Best Management Practices in Greenhouse Soils with Judson Reid

Best Management Practices in Greenhouse Soils with Judson Reid

Judson Reid from Cornell University and Talia Plaskett, Perennia's Protected Crops Specialist, will be making the rounds in Nova Scotia July 3-July 5 for farmer-guided discussions on soil health in tunnel spaces! These sessions will be primarily focused around nitrogen management, and the crucial considerations to make when selecting nutrient inputs to make sure that we are supporting a healthy and resilient soil system, as well as maximizing the productivity on our target crops. This

Perennia2023-06-22T16:48:55+00:00June 22, 2023|Categories: Cover Crops, Nitrogen Management|

Check out some of our new educational materials!
Check out some of our new educational materials!

Check out some of our new educational materials!

We have had a busy winter! There are lots of great new resources that have been developed over the last several months to help further your journey in cover cropping, nitrogen management, and rotational grazing. You can find all of this on our OFCAF website and on Perennia's YouTube channel, but here is a rundown of what you may have missed!Some great instructional YouTube videos featuring farmers and Perennia Specialists: Frost Seeding Red Clover into

Perennia2023-04-25T00:17:31+00:00April 21, 2023|Categories: Cover Crops, Nitrogen Management, OFCAF, Rotational Grazing|Tags: compost, cover crop, factsheet, herbicide, manure, nitrogen management, podcast, Rotational Grazing, webinar, YouTube|

Terminating cover crops with herbicides
Terminating cover crops with herbicides

Terminating cover crops with herbicides

When implementing cover crops into a crop rotation, it is important that the cover crop doesn't then become a weed! For farms that use herbicides, check out this excellent article on considerations for cover crop species selection and termination, written by Purdue University. (Note that this is an American publication, and you should check the Health Canada website before using any products to ensure that it is registered in Canada and that you are

Perennia2022-08-10T14:31:32+00:00April 10, 2023|Categories: Cover Crops|

The effect of residual herbicides on cover crop establishment
The effect of residual herbicides on cover crop establishment

The effect of residual herbicides on cover crop establishment

Last winter, in a Horticulture Nova Scotia Research and Advisory committee meeting, we were discussing the effect of residual herbicides on cover crop establishment. Very good tables are available on the residual effects of herbicides used in field crops on cover crop establishment, but many of the horticultural herbicides are not include in these tables. In order to answer the question: “Which cover crops are best suited to be planted after commonly used horticultural residual

Perennia2023-01-17T18:49:25+00:00January 17, 2023|Categories: Cover Crops, Uncategorized|Tags: cover crop, herbicide|