For the second time in three years untimely heavy rains and flooding caused many Iowa farmers to either lose a crop or prevent them from planting a crop altogether. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is encouraging those farmers to explore the benefits of planting a cover crop.

Barb Stewart, state agronomist for NRCS in Iowa, says farmers with unplanted fields will have to weigh their program and insurance options. “We encourage producers to also assess agronomic options for ensuring long-term productivity,” she said. Stewart says planting a cover crop will help producers with unplanted fields capture applied nutrients, fix nitrogen, build organic matter, control weeds, reduce erosion, and improve soil health and biology during the remainder of the season. “Iowa farmers can build considerable yield potential for following year crops,” she says.

Cover crops also help prevent Fallow Syndrome – a population loss of beneficial fungi in the soil which develops in corn roots and assists in taking up nutrients. “Cover crops will serve as a host crop to give a better chance for the fungi to recover,” says Stewart.

Iowa NRCS recently revised a fact sheet for planting cover crops on prevented planting fields. The fact sheet includes a table with diverse cover crop mixes to address specific natural resource concerns. This fact sheet is available on the Iowa NRCS website (www.ia.nrcs.usda.gov) or at your local NRCS office.

Producers are advised to check with their crop insurance agents on prevented planting requirements and harvest restrictions for cover crops.