Why is it only now that hard research around cover crops is being positively promoted to the tillage sector by Teagasc? From the results displayed by Bridget Lynch at this week’s Teagasc tillage conference, their benefits seem blindingly obvious. Two clear wins discussed were nutrient goal keeping (particularly nitrogen), but also the potential for increasing the organic matter of soils. I get there is a cost, workload, soil type and weather argument, but on the greater scale of things, surely we need a far larger proportion of the tillage area with cover crops. It seems such an easy win that surely it can be close to neutral on long term benefits if managed properly.