A recent study led by the American Soybean Association (ASA) claims to demonstrate the differing value of two agricultural working lands conservation programs and their ability to create increased adoption of cover crops. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) takes issue with several aspects of the study. … Read More →
cover crops
The “Sweet Spot” for Farms to Enhance On-farm Biodiversity
In this guest blog post Patrick Baur and Kenzo Esquivel discuss their newly published study that shows how some diversified farms have found a “sweet spot” to expand their crop portfolio and adopt ecologically based practices like hedgerows or cover crops. … Read More →
Center for Rural Affairs report looks at spending under Conservation Stewardship Program
“Mapping the Money: An Analysis of Spending Under the Conservation Stewardship Program,” is a new report from the Center for Rural Affairs that traces the path of the funding, from Congress to on-the-ground conservation. … Read More →
Cover Crops and CAFOs: EQIP in FY 2019 and FY 2020
In this blog post, we analyze how EQIP financial assistance was utilized in FY 2019 and FY 2020 through the EQIP general pool. … Read More →
The Case for Next Generation Crop Insurance
Recently, the AGree Economic and Environmental Risk Coalition (AGree E2 Coalition) released a new paper: The Case for Next Generation Crop Insurance. The comprehensive paper reviews mounting scientific evidence for the risk reduction benefits of agricultural conservation practices as well as policy barriers to broad adoption, before proposing recommendations to bring the federal crop insurance […]
New Pandemic Cover Crop Program is a First Step
Last week, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a new Pandemic Cover Crop Program (PCCP), which will offer a $5 per acre premium discount to producers who planted qualifying cover crops during the 2021 crop year and enrolled in eligible federal crop insurance policies. The PCCP is administered by the Risk Management Agency […]
Do Cover Crops Help Farmers Save Costs?
After decades of research, cover crops have been widely shown to be beneficial to crop yields, soil health, and farmers’ bottom lines. However, many obstacles to cover crop adoption still remain – including start-up costs and the amount of time before benefits are seen…. Read More →
National Cover Crop Farmer Survey Now Underway!
After decades of research, cover crops have been widely shown to be beneficial to crop yields, soil health, and farmers’ bottom lines. However, many obstacles to cover crop adoption still remain – including start-up costs and the amount of time before benefits are seen. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education […]
Cover Crops – Good for Crop Yields, Soil Health, and Bottom Lines
The benefits of cover crops have long been known to farmers, and today, they are also increasingly being studied by agricultural researchers. Despite their benefits to crop yields, soil health, and farmers’ bottom lines, however, many obstacles to cover crop adoption still remain. One significant barrier for many farmers is the cost of introducing cover […]
Farmers Continue to Reap Big Benefits from Cover Crops
Farmers and agriculture advocates have for years been extolling the benefits of cover crops – crops grown specifically with the intention of enriching the soil. Not only have producers seen the health and biodiversity of their soil increase, erosion decrease, and improvements in crop production thanks to the use of cover crops, their experiences are […]
Guest Post: From Cover Crops to High Tunnels
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA), an NSAC member organization. Their post highlights the benefits of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Organic Initiative, which provides financial and technical assistance to support the implementation and installation of conservation practices tailored to organic producers. Despite the significant benefits that the Organic Initiative can […]