Duration: 10/01/2025 to 09/30/2030

Administrative Advisor(s):

NIFA Reps:

Non-Technical Summary

Cover crops are a conservation practice that can have important benefits for agricultural sustainability and environmental quality in the Midwest.  The adoption of cover crops by producers has increased over the past decade but is still hampered by practical challenges including timing for seeding and termination, knowledge about fertilizer management changes that might be needed, pest management, and other details.  The goal of this project is to facilitate widespread adoption of cover crops across the Midwest.  The objectives are 1) to conduct research to answer some of the practical questions and challenges, and 2) to develop and deliver educational products and programs for producers, conservation agency staff, and others who work with producers.  This project will lead to greater knowledge, competence, and confidence of the producers and their advisors, to allow more successful adoption of cover crops across the region.  

Statement of Issues and Justification

This project will support the continued development and evaluation of cover cropping systems in the Midwest, with the primary goals of improved agronomic production, soil health, and water quality within annual cropping systems.  Since the team’s last renewal in 2019-2020, the landscape surrounding cover crop use continues to evolve as it did from when this multistate project first began in 2010.

Although the 2017 Census of Agriculture data found an increase in cover crop use from 10.3 to 15.4 million acres (increase of 50%) across the US, the 2022 data revealed a slower rate of increased use to 18 million acres (increase of 17%), representing approximately 6% of harvested cropland using the practice (USDA NASS 2019, 2024). The Census of Agriculture data only presents one snapshot in time of cover crop use and in the last several years, the use of remote sensing technology helps paint a more thorough picture of cover crop use and impacts. Recent research finds that cover crop use increased four-fold between 2011 and 2021 in the U.S. Midwest, increasing from 1.8% of cropland acres using the practice to 7.2% (Zhou et al. 2022). Other satellite-based research finds that in aggregate, cover crop use can lead to minor decreases in corn and soybean yields compared to non-cover cropped fields, underscoring the importance of improved cover crop management to reduce yield penalties and increase use (Deines et al. 2022). In the North Central region specifically, satellite imagery and modeling efforts are working to quantify cover crop related ecosystem services including nitrogen uptake, nitrogen leaching reductions, and soil carbon accrual (Xu et al. 2018, Ye et al. 2023). These advances in research are important to highlight cover crop trends and impacts at scale, as well as to support the surge in programmatic and funding efforts targeted to cover crops over the last several years. One such effort is the “Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities” program, launched by USDA in 2022, representing a multi-billion dollar investment in practices that confer climate adaptation and mitigation (USDA, 2024a). The projects funded through this effort include all U.S states and territories and a range of “climate-smart” practices; notably, the investment for cover crops is extensive, including 93 projects with over $2.4 billion intended to transfer cost share dollars to farmers (USDA, 2024b). Additionally, the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law in 2022, confers an additional $20 billion to federal conservation programs, including those that are known to fund significant acreages of cover crops including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) (Fisher and Outlaw, 2022). Cover crops are widely recognized as a “shovel-ready” practice to be implemented that theoretically does not require shifts in the commodity crops already grown at scale (i.e. corn and soybean in the North Central region). However, professionals in the field recognize that cover crops require intentional management shifts for successful integration that achieves desired benefits and minimizes impacts to cash crop yields. Therefore, the continued attention and funding to support the use of cover crops necessitates the work of NCCC-211 to continue developing and evolving training and materials that are research-based.

The overarching rationale for growing cover crops is to have a living, growing plant for more months of the year relative to conventional summer annual cropping systems in the Midwest.  Cover crops have been shown to reduce nitrate leaching (Kaspar et al., 2008) and are a key practice in the Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategies of most Midwest states.  Cover crops can reduce erosion (Kaspar et al., 2001), reduce runoff (Basche, 2017), increase soil organic matter (Moore et al., 2014), improve soil health (Blanco-Canqui et al., 2012), and increase other ecosystem services.  While the benefits and potential benefits of cover crops are clear, there are still many practical questions and challenges for farmers that hold back more widespread adoption.  The NCCC-211 members along with MCCC, work to do research and provide Extension materials and programs to address these questions.  

Objectives

Procedures and Activities

Objective 1: Evaluate the impacts of cover crops on ecosystem services and agronomic production and profitability, and develop adaptive management practices to improve the performance of cropping systems that include cover crops.

Members of NCCC-211 are conducting field research and modeling studies on the performance and associated environmental outcomes of cover cropping practices and systems in their respective states. These two areas serve 1) farmers, who want to understand the risks associated with new practices and apply best management practices as effectively as possible; and 2) policy-makers, who want to apply cover crops across the landscape to achieve goals including water quality, soil carbon sequestration, and climate change mitigation. To effectively understand the function of cover crops in these multifunctional landscapes requires an interdisciplinary team, and the NCCC-211 members span expertise in plant pathology, entomology, agronomy, weed science, nutrient management, soil biology, agroecology, soil physics, and various related topics. The renewal of NCCC-211 allows for all members to enhance their research programs with expertise and input from across the region and across these disciplines, as well as build multi-state studies examining cover crop use.

Methods include field studies, on-farm work, and modeling. In recent years, gathering data via remote sensing and large databases to evaluate the effect of cover crops on resilience to climate change scenarios such as intense rainfall and drought conditions has become more prominent. The NCCC-211 and MCCC groups also interact regularly with plant breeders, who are intensifying efforts to breed cover crops for different cropping systems and specific goals. Annual meetings and discussions provide a forum to get input and feedback from stakeholders as well as members about new questions and challenges.

Objective 2: Develop new and update existing cover crop educational and outreach products and programs for a variety of audiences, and work with partners (farmers, conservation agencies, ag-industry, crop advisors, and non-governmental organizations) to facilitate more rapid adoption and successful management of cover crops across the US

Members of NCCC-211, along with other colleagues in MCCC, work with many partners and stakeholders in developing and delivering outreach products and programs about cover crops.  The annual meeting is the main venue for in-person communication about ongoing programs, their impacts and challenges, and the need for further education. Plans are made for new collaborative projects and volunteers are sought to become engaged with those projects.  Programs and products resulting from NCCC-211 in concert with MCCC include the annual conference, field days with speakers from multiple states, an updated cover crop decision-support tool, the new regional cover crop “recipes” that are tailored for each state, the cover crop pocket guide, and collaboration on professional development such as workshops. The annual meeting is critical for building and maintaining communication and collaboration across the Midwest. In addition, the MCCC is collaborating with the newly formed cover crop councils in other regions of the US.

Expected Outcomes and Impacts

Projected Participation

View Appendix E: Participation

Educational Plan

Extension products such as factsheets, videos, decision-support tools, and training modules developed or coordinated by the committee will be available through the Extension websites of the respective states as well as on the MCCC website. Training programs, as well as single-topic presentations, will be available at winter meetings, field days, webinars, or online modules.  Audiences will include (but will not be limited to) producers, NRCS staff, Extension personnel, crop consultants, and the ag industry at large. 

Organization/Governance

A modified Standard Governance for multistate research activities will be followed. A new Secretary will be elected each year at the NCCC-211 annual in-person meeting. The secretary will be responsible for collating individual state reports and submitting a final report. After the annual report is submitted, the Secretary rotates up to the Chair role for the following year. The Chair leads the annual NCCC-211 meeting during the annual meeting toward the end of their term.

Literature Cited

Basche, A. 2017. Turning soils into sponges: How farmers can fight floods and droughts. Union of Concerned Scientists. 

Blanco-Canqui, H., M.M. Claassen, and D.R. Presley. 2012. Summer cover crops fix nitrogen, increase crop yield, and improve soil-crop relationships. Agron. J. 104:137-147.

Deines, J.M., Guan, K., Lopez, B., Zhou, Q., White, C.S., Wang, S. and Lobell, D.B. 2023. Recent cover crop adoption is associated with small maize and soybean yield losses in the United States. Global change biology, 29(3), pp.794-807.

Fisher, B.L. and Outlaw, J.L. 2022. The inflation reduction act of 2022: What's in it for agricultural producers?, AFPC Briefing Paper, No. 22-6, Texas A&M University, The Agricultural & Food Policy Center (AFPC), College Station, TX. https://afpc.tamu.edu/research/publications/files/719/BP-22-06-inflation-reduction-act.pdf

Kaspar, T.C., E.J. Kladivko, J.W. Singer, S. Morse, and D.R. Mutch. 2008. Potential and limitations of cover crops, living mulches, and perennials to reduce nutrient losses to water sources from agricultural fields in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. pp. 129-148 in Final Report: Gulf Hypoxia and Local Water Quality Concerns Workshop, Sept. 26-28, 2005, Ames, Iowa. ASABE, St. Joseph, MI.

Kaspar, T.C., J.K. Radke, and J.M. Laflen. 2001. Small grain cover crops and wheel traffic effects on infiltration, runoff, and erosion. J. Soil Water Conserv. 56:160-164.

Moore, E.B., M.H. Wiedenhoeft, T.C. Kaspar, and C.A. Cambardella. 2014. Rye cover crop effects on soil quantity in no-till corn silage-soybean cropping systems. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 78:968-976.

USDA, 2024a. Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities.

https://www.usda.gov/climate-solutions/climate-smart-commodities

USDA, 2024b. Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Projects.

https://publicdashboards.dl.usda.gov/t/FPAC_PUB/views/PartnershipsForClimate-SmartCommodities/Overview?%3Aembed=y&%3AisGuestRedirectFromVizportal=y&%3Atoolbar=top

USDA-NASS. 2014. Census of Agriculture 2012.

https://agcensus.library.cornell.edu/census_year/2012-census/

USDA-NASS. 2019. Census of Agriculture 2017.

https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2017/index.php#highlights

USDA-NASS. 2024. Census of Agriculture 2022.

https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2022/

Xu, M., Lacey, C.G. and Armstrong, S.D. 2018. The feasibility of satellite remote sensing and spatial interpolation to estimate cover crop biomass and nitrogen uptake in a small watershed. Journal of soil and water conservation, 73(6), pp.682-692.

Ye, L., Guan, K., Qin, Z., Wang, S., Zhou, W., Peng, B., Grant, R., Tang, J., Hu, T., Jin, Z. and Schaefer, D. 2023. Improved quantification of cover crop biomass and ecosystem services through remote sensing-based model–data fusion. Environmental Research Letters, 18(9), p.094018.

Zhou, Q., Guan, K., Wang, S., Jiang, C., Huang, Y., Peng, B., Chen, Z., Wang, S., Hipple, J., Schaefer, D. and Qin, Z. 2022. Recent rapid increase of cover crop adoption across the US Midwest detected by fusing multi‐source satellite data. Geophysical Research Letters, 49(22), p.e2022GL100249.

Attachments

Land Grant Participating States/Institutions

IA, IL, IN, MN, ND, NE, WI

Non Land Grant Participating States/Institutions