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Cover crop adoption still driven by payments, but agronomic benefits growing

Farmers are looking for cover crop benefits beyond soil health and water management.

Midwestern BioAg CEO Gaji Balakaneshan says in many cases, growers only use cover crops because they’re paid to.

“Because they’re not seeing a benefit on a year-to-year basis, and that’s part of the problem.”

He tells Brownfield cover crops can help improve crop fertility programs.

“You should be seeing some increased efficiencies from what you’re putting out in the field by being able to better tap into the reserves that you’ve built up over the years. It could be effectively creating a green manure, and the cover crop is helping make some of those nutrients available that you can then tie into that growing season.”

Balakaneshan says farmers are learning to better manage cover crops, from seeding through termination.