Persistent Cover Crop Adoption Varies by Primary Commodity Crop
The use of cover crops on U.S. cropland increased by 50 percent between 2012 and 2017. During this period, Federal and State conservation programs increased efforts to promote cover crops through financial and technical assistance. Cover crops—such as unharvested cereal rye, oats, winter wheat, or clover—are typically added to a crop rotation during the period in between two commodity or forage crops. Cover crops provide a living, seasonal coverage of soil that can result in a variety of on-farm benefits such as increased soil moisture capacity. Cover crops can also provide public environmental benefits such as less runoff of sediments and nutrients into waterways, reduced flooding in watersheds, and greater soil carbon sequestration.