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Illinois farmers to be rewarded for planting cover crops again in 2020

Photo Credit: University of Illinois Extension

The Illinois Department of Agriculture has announced the return of the “Fall Cover for Spring Savings” program for 2020.

Growers with crop insurance coverage through USDA’s Risk Management Agency are encouraged to plant acres to cover crops in the fall of 2020 followed by an insurable crop in 2021. Eligible applicants then receive a $5 per acre premium discount on verified acres on the following year’s crop insurance invoice.

Illinois Director of Agriculture Jerry Costello says the addition of cover crops though this program helps keep soil anchored, salvage nitrogen, capture carbon and create weed suppression while reaching goals of the Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy.

The program began in 2019, resulting in an additional 50,000 acres of cover crops planted in Illinois with 70% of applicants planting cover crops for the first time.

Applications for 2020 will be available in December.

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