Wild mustard loves the cool springs of northern North Dakota.
It comes on strong just when annual crops are getting started. Innovative farmers elsewhere could use winter grains to suppress the early invaders, but it s too cold here for milling grains to survive. Lots of other operators would use a non-selective herbicide to get a clean start, but organic farmer Terry Jacobson has long ago forsaken that option. Instead he weaves together a flexible rotation of tall grain varieties, underseeded cover crops, carefully applied tillage, and delayed crop planting to thwart weeds. The other two slots are flex years for short-season annuals that allow him to respond to market opportunities.