One of the biggest concerns and complaints no-tillers have about flying on cover crops is that it doesn’t result in a good stand.

It’s an issue Damon Reabe is very familiar with. A pilot and owner of the aerial application companies Dairyland Aviation and Reabe Spraying Service in Waupun, Wis., Reabe understands the challenges in achieving good seed-to-soil contact from an airplane. But in the last 6 years of studying stand failures, he’s come to identify the key factors that can greatly increase the odds of a uniform stand.

At the 2018 National No-Tillage Conference, Reabe explained why your cover crop species, location, seeding rate and timing all play an important role in the success of your aerial-seeded cover crops, and how to troubleshoot failures.

1 Hire the Right Applicator

At the conference, Reabe showed the audience a photo of spring barley that had been flown into a field of sweet…