Cover Crop Trends, Programs, and Practices in the United States

by Steven Wallander, David Smith, Maria Bowman, and Roger Claassen

On U.S. cropland, the use of cover crops increased by 50 percent between 2012 and 2017. Over this same period, Federal and State conservation programs have increased efforts to promote cover crops through financial and technical assistance. Based on a series of farm- and field-level surveys, this report details how cover crops are managed on corn, cotton, soybean, and wheat fields.

Keywords: Cover crop, conservation practice, soil health, conservation program, financial assistance, erosion, tillage

In this publication...

• Entire Report
• Report summary