New Round Of Cover Crop Incentive Funds Available

BETHANY BEDEKER 

COLUMBIA, MISSOURI

The University of Missouri Center for Regenerative Agriculture has begun a second round of funding for fall cover crop planting in Missouri. About $2 million in funding is available for Missouri producers interested in using cover crops on their farmland.

The application period for incentive payments is currently underway and will be open through July 31 or whenever funding runs out, says Bethany Bedeker, cover crop outreach manager with the MU Center for Regenerative Agriculture.

Cover crops are used to protect and improve the soil when cash crops are not being grown. Besides aiding soil health, cover crops help in reducing erosion, sequestering carbon, controlling weeds, managing nutrients and improving water quality, says Rob Myers, director of the center and extension professor in the MU Division of Plant Science and Technology.

Specific opportunities for this enrollment period include $30 per acre to plant cereal rye in front of soybeans, $40 per acre to plant a mix of three cover crops in front of corn or other non-legume crops, $15 per acre to delay spring cover crop termination until after May 1, and $20 per acre for grazing cover crops.

Applications for incentive funds will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis for those who meet eligibility requirements, says Bedeker. After available funds are fully allocated for this season, remaining qualified applicants will be placed on a waiting list.

Applicants must have operational control of the relevant field in Missouri and have a USDA Farm Service Agency farm number. For details and online application form, visit the project website at https://cra.missouri.edu/crcl_covercrops. For questions, email mocrcl@missouri.edu.  ∆

BETHANY BEDEKER: University of Missouri