Custom Mixing

We believe these four stock mixtures will do a good job with a number of soil building concerns, but cannot address the wide range of issues farmers are targeting. We specialize in the custom mixing of all cover crop products found on our website. You can use the stock mixtures we offer as a base to work from, add other products and we will custom mix these to your specifications to make the soil health improvements you are targeting. We continue to stock all of the traditional annual forage seeds many farmers use individually for hay, silage, haylage and rotational uses.

Individual Soil Health Crops

Forage Oats

A fast growing cool season annual that will produce large amounts of high quality forage in the spring to early summer. Its extensive root system will also help build soil structure, suppress weeds and capture excess nutrients from the soil.

Forage Peas

A cool season annual legume used for forage production and usually mixed with other species. Forage peas are an excellent source of protein, will fix nitrogen and produce high quality forage.

forage barley

A cool season spring annual that that emerges early with fast competitive growth. Forage barley will produce large amounts of good quality forage in spring and early summer. Its lower water use allows good production even under drought. It also has the highest saline tolerance of the cereals making it a great choice for those less productive acres.

spring triticale

Spring Triticale is a cross between rye and wheat that is taller and leafier than wheat and oats. It will produce high quality forage with high protein levels and should be cut before heading for optimal forage quality..

Italian ryegrass

Due to its rapid establishment, quick regrowth and prolonged growth into fall, Italian Ryegrass is an excellent forage. It does not go to seed the establishment year, producing better quality forage than many other annual forage crops. It works well as a cover crop for establishing alfalfa when using a low seeding rate.

proso Millets

Proso millets lack the biomass of the foxtail millets, but can be great additions to some cover crop mixes. They have one of lowest water requirements or any grain and do well in combination with other warm season species. They also are very good in wildlife life mixes both as cover and a food source.

forage radish

Forage radish is a cool season annual brassica that is excellent in grazing mixes. The tops will be grazed first, while the tuber, which can grow to 12-18 inches long, will be grazed after the first or second frost makes it more palatable.

purple top turnip

 Purple top turnips are a fast growing crop that reaches near maximum production 80 to 90 days after seeding. They germinates quickly, and can be planted to provide summer, fall and winter grazing. They can be green chopped but most often are grazed with roots, stems and leaves all being grazed.

hybrid brassica

Hybrid brassicas have been bred for rapid growth with high leaf-to-tuber ratios providing a large amount of lush green forage. They also have excellent regrowth capabilities providing forage throughout the late spring and summer..

dwarf essex rape seed

This cool season annual is a member of the cabbage and brassica family. It has excellent hear and cold tolerance, good salt tolerance and provides excellent forage qualities, especially during summer stress.

sugar beet

The roots of the sugar beet are able to grow up to 4 to 5 feet into the soil breaking up the hard pan layer and allowing water to infiltrate deeper into the soil column. They are very salt tolerant and also will tolerant colder temperatures better than other brassicas. This allows the tops and roots, which are a good source of forage for livestock, to grow later into fall.

forage collards

The forage collard produces a large amount of luscious biomass that can be used as a forage for livestock or for addition of organic matter into the soil. They are very nutritious and palatable and will rebound well from grazing. They are known to be very cold tolerant but are also relatively heat tolerant and will grow well in a wide range of growing conditions.

hybrid kale

Hybrid kale is a cool season hybrid brassica that can withstand freezing temperatures while remaining green and sustaining good forage quality. It is very persistent, can withstand frequent grazing and will tolerant a wide range of growing conditions including lower fertility soils.

nemetode control radish

Respect nematode radish has great ability to control a number of different types of nematodes in the soil. When planted as a monoculture, it has shown to significantly reduce soybean cyst nematode (SCN) populations in the soil and is rated as Class I resistance to some sugar beet cyst nematodes as well.

lentils

 Lentils are a drought tolerant, warm season, annual legume that will provide some nitrogen fixation. They grow upright and spreading providing good weed suppression. They are also used for livestock feed due to a high protein content and high digestibility.

common Vetch

Common Vetch is an annual legume used mostly in cover crop mixes as a nitrogen scavenger and forage producer. It will produce a large amount of dry matter per acre under varied soil conditions.

hairy vetch

Hairy Vetch is used extensively in the United States primarily as a cover crop and forage crop. It is used as an annual in the northern regions of the country and as a winter annual as you move south. When spring planted with grains it makes an excellent livestock feed. It is also a good nitrogen fixer and is used in mixtures for soil health improvement. Care must be taken as it can overwinter even in northern climates when snow cover is sufficient. Often, a large amount of hard seed is present that may cause problems for future cash crops.

frosty berseem clover

This cool season, annual legume will increase the quality and amount of forage production with the added benefit of nitrogen fixation to improve soil health.

crimsom clover

Crimson Clover is an annual clover used mostly as a cover crop for nitrogen fixing and biomass production. Its ability to continually grow under cooler conditions allows for greater production into the fall than other clovers. Added to a grass mixture, crimson clover will provide needed biomass for grazing or hay production. Because of its shade tolerance, crimson clover can be interseeded into standing corn to provide ground cover and weed suppression.

faba beans

Faba beans are a cool season annual with one of the highest nitrogen-fixing capabilities of all legumes. They are very cold tolerant and will survive later into fall/winter than most any other legume. They have a vigorous tap root, able to grow up to 4 feet, and good regrowth after grazing. Seed size must be a consideration when mixing with other cover crop species.

flax

This cool season annual has a fibrous root system that helps pull nutrients up in the soil and will provide good amounts of organic matter back into the soil.

cow pea

This warm season, annual legume is relatively drought tolerant and can provide a good source of nitrogen. They have a deep tap root which is beneficial in soil penetration and enhancing soil health. They also provide a good source of nutritious forage..

sunflower

Its root system allows for breaking up soil compaction and hunting for nutrients within the soil. Livestock will graze on the immature plants before they become too fibrous.

safflower

This warm season annual broadleaf is very good at breaking up hard pans and allowing water and air movement further into the soil profile. This is possible because of the tap root of safflower can grow as deep as 4-10 feet under ideal conditions which also allows it to be an excellent nutrient scavenger.

sunn hemp

Sunn hemp is a tropical plant with rapid growth abilities and excellent nitrogen fixing capabilities. Sunn hemp is relatively new to cover crops, but its ability to produce large amounts of biomass and nitrogen makes it a very interesting species to try.

winter pea

This low-growing vine-type legume offers extremely good nitrogen-fixing capabilities. Its ability to survive later into the fall/winter months, and possibly over-winter with adequate snow cover, provides good quality forage later into the year helping to extend your grazing capabilities.

winter triticale

Triticale is a grain species which is developed by crossing rye and wheat. Originally a grain crop, triticale is gaining immense popularity as a cereal forage in the West. In general, for maximum forage yield and feed quality, growers are encouraged to harvest cereal forages prior to seed-fill stage. Allowing for an early harvest, this crop would fit into a double cropping system

Winter Rye grain

Rye is grown widely as a grain crop, cover crop and forage crop. A winter annual, it is planted in the fall and provides winter cover then starts growing again in the spring. It is used to suppress weeds, as spring forage or for seed production. Producers either terminate the rye and then plant a cash crop, or plant directly into the living foliage and then terminate the rye.

willow creek forage winter wheat

Willow Creek Forage Winter Wheat is a winter annual grain that produces large amounts of high quality forage. This awnless variety is late-maturing for maximum forage production and has good winter hardiness allowing it to produce well in the harsh northern winters.

Agassiz Seed and Supply also carries a number of additional cover crops and annual forages, including:

NURSE CROPS

Regreen

Regreen, a wheat x wheatgrass hybrid, produces a sterile plant. After it dies out it does not leave a new generation of plants behind to compete with the slower growing perennial species. A highly versatile temporary cover crop, Regreen can be planted in either the spring or fall in most climates.

A large seed allows Regreen to germinate quickly and get one step ahead of any potential weeds. A dense, fibrous root system enhances Regreen’s ability to stabilize the soil surface and provide vigorous seedlings. A deep root system also allows the plant to be drought tolerant, winter hardy and adaptable to varying soil and moisture conditions. With characteristics from both parents, wheat and wheatgrass, Regreen is ideal for aiding in the establishment of costly native plant communities. This long-lived annual plant will survive in a variety of soil types and environmental conditions. If your objective calls for a nurse crop, Regreen is your answer!

Oats

Used in spring plantings to establish quick cover for slower germinating species. Oats generally have better straw strength than other cover crops making it a better choice.

Barley

Used in spring plantings to establish quick cover for slower germinating species. Since barley has more salt tolerance than other cover crops it is preferred for saline areas.

Winter Wheat

Used in fall plantings to establish quick cover for slower germinating species. Winter Wheat offers cover in the fall, is dormant over winter and regrows in the spring to keep cover the following season.

Winter Rye

Used in the fall to establish quick cover for fall and to maintain cover the following spring after breaking dormancy. Winter Rye has superior straw strength and more winter hardiness than most winter wheat so it can be used in harsher environments to allow for establishment of slower germinating species.