Farmers looking to try cover crops can get a helping hand with cost and technical assistance through the recently established Farmers for Soil Health (FSH) initiative.
Operating in 20 states, FSH facilitates financial incentives and technical assistance to farmers planting cover crops for the first time.
The initiative results from a partnership between the United Soybean Board, the National Pork Board, and the National Corn Growers Association. Also participating in the project are the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Soil Health Institute, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Funding comes from a grant awarded by USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program. Numerous other projects across the country also received grant funds through the USDA program.
The 20 states covered by the FSH initiative include Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
The primary goal of the FSH initiative is to further build the health and resiliency of soil by facilitating the planting of cover crops on 30 million acres of U.S. farmland by 2030. This represents a doubling of the present number of cover crop acres.
Such an expansion presents broad environmental benefits, as well as benefits to individual farms.
“An increase in cover crop acreage of that magnitude should boost soil health and function by increasing carbon sequestration and reducing erosion and nitrogen lost to groundwater,” said Erin Gundy at the Soil Health Institute. “With support from mentors and technical advisers to help in the transition, farmers can see benefits in three years.”
For corn and soybean grower Neal Bredhoft of Alma, Missouri, the benefits of combining cover crops with no-till have included improved soil health and reduced erosion. “We started no-tilling in 1990 and then started growing cover crops 12 years ago,” Bredhoft said.
Today, Bredhoft grows cereal rye annually as a cover crop on half of the farm, always planting the rye on fields previously growing corn.
“Adding cover crops took us to the next level of building soil health on our farm,” he said. “Most of our ground is highly erodible, and we used to have gully erosion. But by combining cover crops with no-till, we’ve been able to prevent the soil erosion.
“We’ve also increased soil organic matter on some fields, as well as water infiltration,” Bredhoft said. “In addition, we have a reduction in nutrients leaving the field.”
But despite the benefits of growing cover crops, barriers continue to prevent many farmers from adopting the practice.
“The whole goal of FSH is to get farmers to try growing cover crops,” said Bredhoft. “The payments through FSH will offset the cost of growing cover crops and give more farmers a chance to try them on a few acres.
“Having access to technical assistance gives farmers an idea of the local growing practices that will help them be successful,” said Bredhoft.
“Every state is different in how they decide to deliver the technical assistance,” said FSH director Ben West.
In addition to offering farmers financial incentives and technical assistance for growing cover crops, the FSH initiative will also support the development of a digital marketplace, where farmers practicing sustainable farming practices can connect with end users looking to purchase sustainably produced farm products.
Farmers from any of the participating 20 states can enroll in the FSH initiative by visiting the FSH website at farmersforsoilhealth.com. The fields a farmer is enrolling must not have grown cover crops the year before the enrollment.
“You also have to agree to establish the cover crops according to the NRCS standards applicable to your state,” said West. “These standards differ in planting dates, planting rates, and cover crop species.”
Enrollment constitutes a three-year contract in which farmers agree to plant cover crops in three consecutive seasons.
“Participating farmers will be paid every spring for the preceding winter’s cover crop period,” said West.
The total payment amounts to $50 per acre paid over three years. The first year’s payment is $25 an acre; the second year’s payment is $15 an acre; and the third year’s incentive is $10 per acre.
“The enrollment limit per farmer is 1,000 acres, representing a payment limit of $50,000 paid over three years,” West said.
“We require only that farmers plant a cover crop according to the state’s NRCS standards,” said West. “We don’t penalize if the farmer didn’t get a stand.”
“The different commodity groups working together gives more farmers from across 20 states the opportunity to enroll in the program,” said Bredhoft. “I encourage farmers to try growing cover crops on a few acres.”
Reaching the goal of 30 million acres of cover crops planted by 2030 would represent a landmark achievement for FSH.
“It has the potential to put the geographic area on a track toward greater environmental and economic resiliency,” said Gundy of the Soil Health Institute.
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