Farmers in the Western Lake Erie Basin—including parts of Ohio, Michigan and Indiana—can earn money through a phosphorus load reduction pilot program. The “Phosphorus Load-Reduction Stimulation Program” (PLUS-UP) program, coordinated by the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC), will pay farmers in the project area $5 to $10 per acre in 2022 to reduce P loads using practices such as no-till or cover crops. 

From farmers using cover crops in rotations to field experts alike, one of the most common questions they get asked is "The principle of cover crops makes sense, but how much are they going to cost me?” But according to Jerry Hall, Director of Research for GO SEED, this question needs to be flipped on its head with farmers asking, “How much can cover crops save me?”