On December 11, 2024 ICCON welcomed Keith Berns, Co-owner and Sales Marketing Manager of Green Cover Seeds based in Bladen, NE. Keith shared the SmartMix Calculator, a unique and user-friendly tool which helps farmers and farm advisors develop cover crop seed mixes.
Keith says the best way to bring additional diversity to a corn/soybean or corn/soybean/wheat rotation is to have more diverse cover crop mixes whenever possible. The cash crops are grown for the grain while the covers only grow vegetatively. Therefore, cover crops become the perfect opportunity to have great plant diversity both above and below ground, without needing specialized equipment, knowledge, or markets.

The SmartMix tool is a free, online tool created by Green Cover Seeds. Users can create an account to utilize the tool.
The SmartMix tool is available to all users by simply creating an online account on the Green Cover Seeds website – Green Cover – Cover Crop Seed – Custom and Pre-Made Mixes. Once logged in, you can begin exploring the different features and functions of the tool. Users will notice that the tool offers basic climate information based on the zip code provided during sign-up. The tool provides the average rainfall, average first and last frost dates, and the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone. This information will be used to help guide the species selection process as you work through the tool.
Users can assign a name to their mix, save, and revisit later and make additions or edits as needed. From there, the tool asks a series of questions to help customize the mix (e.g., seeding method, total acres to be seeded, next cash crop, bagging option). It will also ask for some goals or concerns you hope to address with the cover crop mix. A minimum of one goal is required, and users can select up to 3 goals from a prepopulated drop-down menu. Users should have this in mind before trying to utilize a cover crop mix or any cover crop for that matter. The seeding rates and ratios of species will vary based on what the farmer is hoping to accomplish with the cover crop.

A minimum of one goal is required, and users can select up to 3 from a prepopulated drop-down menu.
One of the truly unique features of the tool is that it asks for expected planting and termination dates and accounts for the growing degree days (GDD) based on your location. This helps the tool make species recommendations and removes some of the guess work around what species might work for you in your context and geography.
A real-time seed cost is displayed at this point that helps users understand what their per acre cost will be based on current prices from Green Cover Seed and market rates. In lieu of price information from local seed dealers, this is still a great way for farmers to get a ballpark idea of what their seed cost will be and allows them to adjust and accommodate their specific budget needs. Species selections can be made through an automatic selection function within the tool, or users can view and select species from a categorized list that has already been filtered to account for the information supplied earlier. Once selected, some of the options offer a function to view a short video that can provide additional information on that species if users are unfamiliar with it. Keith says they are working on getting this function operational for more species.
Once all the selections are made, users can see the seeding rates that are recommended for each species and adjust as needed or delete species entirely from the mix to help keep them within their budget.
This easy-to-use tool offers some unique features that allow users to gain a strong sense of confidence in their cover crop mixes. Keith says they have some plans for tweaks and improvements, and they are always looking for feedback on ways that the tool can be improved. The simple online platform is a great way to help farmers and advisers expand their use of cover crops and do so with a great deal of confidence.
Keith Berns’ full presentation can be viewed on ISAP’s YouTube channel. ICCON will continue our monthly webinars in January 2025, with a presentation from the STAR program. Register for the upcoming ICCON call here. If you are interested in joining the Illinois Cover Crop On-Farm Network to learn about new research and hear from cover crop specialists across the Midwest, please join our google group by sending an email to hello@ilsustainableag.org