Muskegon County farm manager outlines cover-crop plan, soil testing and John Deere See & Spray pilot

Mike Clover, farm manager for the Muskegon County Resource Recovery Center, told the Board of Public Works on March 6 that the county farm has completed agency verification for some operations, is expanding soil-sampling and cover-crop work, and has joined a data-sharing pilot with John Deere.

Clover said the farm received verification under the county’s resolution goal from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) for some cropping operations and the farmstead; forestry, wetland and habitat verification are still in progress. “That was kind of the number 1 goal of our resolution last year,” Clover said.

Clover described several soil- and crop-management changes aimed at conserving soil and reducing chemical inputs. He said staff implemented a new soil-sampling rotation in which each field will be grid-sampled on a roughly four-year cycle using about a 5-acre grid; those samples will be used to create variable-rate fertilizer prescriptions so fertility is applied only where needed. “That’s kind of my big push this year is to get everything set up on a variable rate application,” he said.

Clover said the farm has renewed emphasis on cover crops to limit wind and water erosion and to provide forage. He described experimenting with triticale (a sterile wheat–rye hybrid used for forage) and said the crop can be killed by mowing rather than a herbicide application. Clover also described plans to try interseeding a high-nitrogen clover into standing corn on a trial area of roughly 120 acres, working with Michigan State University Extension on timing and herbicide choices.

“Probably the most exciting thing is the See and Spray partnership with Deere and Company,” Clover said. He explained the See & Spray system uses cameras on sprayers to spot-spray weeds rather than broadcasting herbicide, and that John Deere offered discounted participation in exchange for using the farm’s data to help train algorithms. Clover said the current system is usable on corn, soybeans and cotton and that John Deere is interested in data on alfalfa and other crops.

Board members asked technical questions about the triticale agreement with a dairy buyer, how the farm will plant into existing wheat stands, and whether drones would be used for broadcast seeding; Clover said the farm may broadcast-seed with its spreader and that drone broadcast was an option but that finding a drone that handles dry broadcast at the required 10-pound-per-acre rate is a challenge.

Separately, the board approved a motion to accept the low bids for a list of bio-chemicals for spring operations at the Resource Recovery Center; the operations supervisor presented a spreadsheet of the lowest bidders that met specifications and the board approved the purchase by roll call. The board also approved a request to write off a past-due account for Johnson’s Septic Service LLC in the amount of $8,083.21 from the Resource Recovery Center accounts receivable.

Nut graf: Clover framed the changes as incremental steps to reduce erosion and chemical use while improving nutrient management and forage options. The See & Spray pilot links those conservation goals to on‑farm data gathering; Clover said the county would share data to help algorithm development while using the technology to cut herbicide use.

Background and context: Clover told the board the farm had to adjust its land-management plan to meet verification requirements and that staff have been patient working through the verification steps for non-cropping operations. He described a genomic soil biology test the farm is participating in as exploratory; Clover said the underlying databases for the test are still developing, so the farm is proceeding cautiously.

Ending: Clover and staff said they expect to continue trials through the fall and will report results to the board as the soil-sampling program, triticale forage production and the interseeding trial develop.