DES MOINES, IOWA, Aug. 16, 2016—Iowa farmers planted about 64,000 more cover crop acres funded through state and federal incentives in the fall of 2015 compared to fall 2014 – a 22 percent increase.

Iowans planted 291,267 cover crop acres last fall compared to 227,256 in 2014 with help from state and federal conservation programs. The numbers include funding from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) through the Water Quality Initiative (WQI), State Cost-Share, and local watershed projects. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides farmers assistance for cover crop through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).

Cover crops such as cereal rye, winter wheat and hairy vetch are helping farmers provide ground cover and living roots in the soil throughout the year. This helps improve soil health, water infiltration, and soil biology, reduce soil erosion and weed competition, trap excess nutrients in the soil, and even provide livestock grazing.

Barb Stewart, state agronomist for NRCS in Iowa, credits the increase in cover crop acres to the amount of outreach and education to famers from conservation groups throughout the state, along with more farmers paying attention to soil health and water quality the past several years.

“A few years back many farmers were more careful, experimenting with 10- and 20-acre cover crop plots,” said Stewart. “Many of those farmers are now planting hundreds of acres of cover crops, and even growing and harvesting their own cover crop seed.”

Washington County in southeast Iowa stands out in total acres planted in fall 2015, with twice as many (19,974) than any other Iowa county through conservation programs. District Conservationist Tony Maxwell, who runs the NRCS office in Washington, says the conservation culture has a lot to do with their success. “We have a long history of early adoption of conservation practices, like no-till,” said Maxwell. “That has made the transition to cover crops much easier.”

Maxwell says challenges Washington County farmers have faced in the past are helping them overcome any difficulties establishing cover crops. “Many issues farmers face with cover crops, such as the carbon penalty associated with high amounts of organic matter and planting into heavy residue in cool, wet conditions, are problematic in no-till corn, too,” he said. “We have experienced no-tillers who have faced these challenges before, and can overcome them much easier.”

NRCS and IDALS are both anticipating cover crop acres to increase by about 15 percent next year in Iowa, based on 2016 program signups. “We continue to see interest in cover crops grow,” said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, “both from farmers brand new to the practice as well as those who have been doing it for a couple years.”

Northey says even in challenging economic times in agriculture, farmers are seeing the benefits cover crops provide and putting their own money toward cover crops and other practices focused on protecting water quality and improving soil health.

For more information about cover crops and other practices and programs to help address natural resource concerns on your land, visit your local USDA Service Center for planning assistance.