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Cover crops (CCs) are a diverse group of species that are sown simultaneously or after the cash crop either as monocrops or mixtures. A farmer survey with 1130 respondents was carried out with the aim to gain knowledge on CC species used by Finnish farmers, to understand how experienced farmers were with them, how experiences varied depending on farm and farmer characteristics, and to identify target groups for dissemination and policy measures. The studied groups were conventional and organic farms that had selected CCs as a registered measure in 2020 to receive agricultural payments. Our results show that farmers were experienced with a high number of CCs despite the high-latitude conditions. Only 11% of respondents had plenty of experience with CCs as mixtures. Farmers tended to favour CCs that were familiar to them as cash crops. Organic producers were usually more experienced than conventional farmers. Education increased curiosity towards CCs. Farmers who used more diverse cash crops tended to use more diverse CCs. In conclusion, especially farmers who have cereal-based systems and rotations should be a core group for knowledge sharing to support transition towards increased use of CCs and higher diversity of CC species in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early adopter-farmers form a living lab of farms that have a great deal of hidden knowledge about the cultivation of cover crops (CCs). Understanding of how early adopters use and value CCs provides valuable knowhow to be shared with other farmers. This study gathered information about the most common under-sown CCs in Finland. A structured survey was used to collect farmers' experiences considering CCs' regional suitability, growth, competition, and impacts on soil and cash crop yields. The respondents were both conventional and organic farmers who cultivated CCs in 2020. One thousand one hundred and thirty farmers answered the survey. Four hundred and ten times they shared knowhow about the use of under-sown CCs. They were mostly familiar with clovers, ryegrasses, and timothy as CCs. They answered 27 specific statements on CC (a Likert scale, five answer choices). Farmers' experiences were well in line with the understanding gained from field experiments. Farmers had experienced positive impacts of CCs on soil health. Organic farmers were slightly more positive than conventional farmers. This is attributable to a longer period of having CCs in organic farms, and general differences in means to control weeds and manage crop nutrition. Gained experience with common species used in grassland mixtures had strengthened farmers' trust in their use of CCs. Farmers having high cereal areas are an important target group for sharing the early adopters' experiences, as cereal farmers were more challenged to use even common CCs. Future research and on-farm experiments should focus on CCs with other cash crops instead of cereals (grain legumes, rapeseed, and other minor crops). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]