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More producers are adopting cover crop, no-till practices

Cover crop acreage has grown rapidly over the past five years according to a recent Soil Health Institute study based on 2017 Ag Census data.

Rob Myers, a University of Missouri agronomist, says more producers are adopting cover crop and no-till practices.

“Cover crops increased by 50 percent during that five-year period we also saw growth in no-till acres in terms of eight million acres,” he says. “Overall, 104 million acres of no till and 15 million acres of cover crops.”

The Soil Health Institute progress report was written by Myers and Joseph LaRose with the University of Missouri Extension.

Myers tells Brownfield the data shows there is a lot of interest in adopting these practices.

“If we stayed on the current growth rate, we’re on for cover crops we would be to about 40 million acres of cover crops a decade from now,” he says. “That has implications for how equipment manufacturers prepare and how seed suppliers build up seed supplies of cover crops and so on.”

The Soil Health Institute, a nonprofit based in North Carolina, works with stakeholders to identify gaps in research and adoption; develops strategies, networks, and funding to address those gaps; and ensures the impact of those investments to agriculture, the environment, and society.

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Audio: Rob Myers, University of Missouri