Acres Added to the 2023 Cover Crop Program

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS

   The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) announced today the addition of 20,000 acres to the 2023 Fall Cover for Spring Savings program. The application period for the program ended on January 15, with 828 applications accounting for 182,688 acres applied for, surpassing the allotted 140,000 and setting a record for acres requested.

   IDOA received funding from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to add 40,000 acres to the program for a total of 140,000 acres available for the 2023 growing season. In addition, IDOA is making additional acres available by accessing unused federal funds from previous application periods and matching state funds, bringing the total available acres for 2023 to 160,000.

   “This exemplifies the Governor’s priority on maximizing resources for the betterment of the state,” said IDOA Director Jerry Costello. “I want to thank our partners at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, as well as our IDOA staff for leveraging dollars for greater federal funds.”

   Eligible applicants will receive a premium discount of $5 per acre on the following year’s crop insurance for every acre of cover crop enrolled and verified in the program.

   Applicants were required to certify that their cover crops are approved through their local Farm Service Agency office before applying. Applicants needed their current FSA-578 and federal crop insurance policy number(s) for the 2023 application process.

   The discount program was designed to promote additional acres of cover crops that are not covered by other state or federal incentives. IDOA will use a combination of tools to verify that acres applied for through this program are planted in cover crops. The program is only applicable for those with coverage through the United States Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency (USDA-RMA) crop insurance program. Confirmed applications will be forwarded to the USDA-RMA for processing and for application of premium discounts to 2023 crop insurance invoices. ∆