UGA Extension contacts:
Uttam K. Saha
Cover crops are one of the most important practices that farmers can use to improve their soils and the sustainability of their production system. Knowing how much biomass there is in a field is a critical piece of information for cover crop management. Part 1 of this circular provides a step-by-step guide to taking a sample that will be representative of your field. Part 2 provides additional steps for preparing a fresh cover crop sample to send to the Agricultural and Environmental Services Laboratory so it can be analyzed to determine nitrogen availability to the following crop. Equation examples and data sheets are also provided in order to help users calculate necessary information for submission using the given formulas. Revised by Uttam Saha, Program Coordinator, Agricultural and Environmental Services Laboratories; Original manuscript by Julia W. Gaskin, former UGA Sustainable Agriculture Coordinator; Dennis Hancock, former UGA Extension Forage Specialist; Uttam Saha, AESL; and Katelyn Chatam, Agricultural Specialist, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences.
Published by University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. For more information or guidance, contact your local Extension office.
The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (working cooperatively with Fort Valley State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the counties of Georgia) offers its educational programs, assistance, and materials to all people without regard to age, color, disability, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, or veteran status, and is an Equal Opportunity Institution.
