Wayne Fredericks, a corn and soybean farmer from Osage, Iowa, has been no-tilling soybeans since 1991 and strip-tilling corn since 2001. But ever since he tried using cover crops in 2012, he has been able to reduce his use of fertilizer by 30%.

Over the next 4 years, DU will work with their partners and private landowners to enroll acres into cover crop contracts with ADM. In return, the landowners will receive a $10/acre incentive payment, each year, for 4 years ($40 per acre total).

NRCS will target funding, increasing program flexibilities, launch a new outreach campaign to promote nutrient management’s economic benefits, in addition to expanding partnerships to develop nutrient management plans. This is part of USDA’s broader effort to address future fertilizer availability and cost challenges for U.S. producers.

Data from the new report, Cover Crop Adoption & Outlook by High-Production U.S. Farmers: Applications, Economics & Trends, published by Ag Equipment Intelligence, reveals that most customers are wanting more from their current equipment dealer when it comes to cover crop knowledge, product availability and resources.

Daryl Obermeyer had already implemented cover cropping practices in his operation before the NRCS and On-Farm Research study started. He used this study to validate what he was doing and get concrete data and results of what was really happening.