News

More farmers are planting cover crops

The latest Ag Economy Barometer suggests more farmers are using cover crops.

Purdue University’s Jim Mintert says…”two-thirds of the producers in our survey said they had either have planted a cover crop in the past or currently do so. Forty-one percent said they currently use cover crops.”

He tells Brownfield most of the producers surveyed reported only planting cover crops on a portion of their farms’ acreage.

“Roughly six out of 10 of the producers that use cover crops said they plant them on 25 percent or less of their acreage,” he says. “So, those are folks that are maybe still experimenting with cover crops or in some cases have identified a portion of their farming operation that’s well suited to using cover crops.”

Ten percent of farmers surveyed use cover crops on more than 75 percent of their acreage.

When asked why they choose to plant cover crops the most common responses were improved soil health, erosion control, and water quality. Ten percent of cover crop users said carbon sequestration contracts were another reason to plant cover crops.

The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer is a monthly national survey of 400 U.S. agricultural producers.