Cover crops are grasses, legumes, and forbs grown when cash crops are not being grown (usually late fall, winter, and early spring) to provide vegetative cover throughout the entire year. They are not cash crops but are planted to scavenge soil nutrients, fix inorganic nitrogen, reduce erosion and compaction, incrementally increase organic matter, and build soil structure. The degree to which cover crops contribute to these soil health improvements depends on soil type, cover crop species selection, and planting and termination practices.
Practical considerations often drive cover crop species selection; farmers select cover crops based on goals, the cost and availability of seeds, the optimal seeding date, the chosen seeding method, and the planned termination strategy. Cover crops are broadly categorized into four types: grasses, cereal grains, legumes, and brassicas/forbs:
Grasses like annual ryegrass and sorghum-sudangrass are popular for their rapid growth and soil structure improvement.
Cereal grains such as barley, oats, cereal rye, triticale, and wheat are valued for their winter hardiness and erosion control.
Legumes, including vetch, clovers, sunn hemp, and peas, enrich the soil with nitrogen.
Brassicas/forbs like radish, mustards, turnips, rape, and buckwheat are known for breaking up soil compaction and suppressing weeds.
Cover crops can be successfully established through a variety of planting strategies with varying benefits and challenges. Seeding cover crop with a seed drill requires special equipment and takes more time, but it provides better seed-to-soil contact and more efficient use of seed. Broadcast seeding generally requires more seed to ensure adequate establishment, but it is much quicker and requires less labor. Broadcast seeding with light incorporation can allow for excellent seed-to-soil contact but, again, can require more labor and soil disturbance.
Cover crop establishment can occur during multiple windows throughout the growing season. Cover crops can be directly seeded into the growing crop at various crop growth stages. Interseeding can occur before the crop canopies by broadcast application (sometimes with fertilizer) or with a specialized drill. Cover crops are also broadcasted later in the season with high-boy equipment or through aerial application. Cover crops are most often seeded following the harvest of the cash crop. Seeding can occur through broadcast application, mixed with manure and applied in a slurry, or drill-seeded.
Timely termination of cover crops is essential to prevent them from competing with the subsequent cash crops for resources such as moisture, sunlight, and nutrients. Termination timing and methods depend on access to equipment, cover crop maturity, weather, and goals. In general, farms can either terminate cover crops before planting cash crops (traditional method) or after planting cash crops ("planting green"):
Winter termination: Some cover crops, particularly those that are not winter-hardy, will naturally die off (winterkill) during colder months, eliminating the need for active termination.
Mechanical termination: This includes methods like tillage, mowing, roller crimping, or grazing, which physically uproot or damage the cover crop. The effectiveness of mechanical termination depends heavily on the species selected and the timing of the operation.
Chemical termination: Herbicides, such as 2,4-D, glyphosate, and paraquat, are commonly used to terminate cover crops, either before planting or, in the case of herbicide-resistant cash crops, during or after planting.
Cover crops can also be harvested as forage. To learn more, see Cover Crops: Forage.
When used, in what regions in the U.S. is the practice found:
Upper Midwest, Northeast, Southeast
FARM SIZE
When used, typically found on farms of the following sizes:
All Sizes

Practice Benefits
Build soil health: Cover crops improve soil health by enhancing soil structure, increasing organic matter, and promoting biological activity. Their roots break up compacted soil, improving water infiltration and reducing erosion. As they decompose, cover crops add organic matter to the soil, which boosts its nutrient-holding capacity and fosters a healthier microbial ecosystem. This not only improves nutrient cycling but also increases soil resilience, helping it better withstand droughts and heavy rainfall. In the long term, cover crops build healthier, more productive soils.
Reduced erosion: Cover crops are highly effective at reducing soil erosion, particularly in fields where crop residue is minimal or absent, such as after a forage harvest. The above-ground biomass of cover crops helps minimize erosion by breaking the impact of raindrops, which reduces the detachment of soil particles and slows the movement of rainwater across the field, decreasing runoff velocity. The below-ground biomass, or root systems, further anchors the soil, providing physical stability and improving soil structure.
Improved manure nutrient capture and cycling: Cover crops capture and retain nutrients from fall-applied manure, incorporating them into their biomass and reducing the risk of nutrient loss through erosion or leaching. Upon termination, cover crops act as "green manures," gradually releasing these captured nutrients as they decompose, making them available to subsequent cash crops and enhancing soil fertility.
Improve no-till systems: In no-till systems, maintaining healthy soil structure and nutrient cycling relies heavily on soil microbial activity. Cover crops protect the soil surface from crusting, support soil microbial communities, and contribute to soil carbon levels through their root and biomass residues. These ecosystem services are particularly crucial in dairy crop rotations where cash crop residues are minimal. In organic no-till systems, cover crops are indispensable as they serve as the primary method for weed control in the absence of tillage or herbicides.
Solve management problems: Cover crops offer versatile solutions to a variety of field management challenges. By selecting the appropriate species, planting and termination methods, farmers can leverage cover crops to control weeds, disrupt pest and disease cycles, scavenge nutrients, regulate soil temperature, prevent and alleviate surface compaction, manage soil moisture, and address other specific site conditions.
Suppress weeds: A thick cover crop mat/mulch can suppress weeds and decrease herbicide passes required during the cash crop growing season.
Increased yields: Long-term use of cover crops has been shown to increase yields in corn and soybeans, with the most significant yield gains observed on farms that have been planting cover crops for at least a decade. This consistent yield improvement underscores the cumulative benefits of integrating cover crops into crop rotation systems.

Implementation Insights
Site-specific or Farm-specific requirements

Irrigation: Cover crops are generally not viable or economical for farms that rely on irrigation.
Climate: Cover crops are more common in cooler climates that are not suitable for double- or triple-cropping. Harvesting a winter forage confers similar benefits to cover crops but is more economically advantageous.
Required Capital Expenditures (CapEx)

Planting equipment: Cover crops may require specific planting equipment, such as seed drills, no-till planters, or broadcast seeders. For smaller farms, conservation districts, co-ops, or extension offices often have equipment available to rent.
Termination equipment: Cover crops that do not naturally die off during the winter (winterkill) will need to be terminated. While using herbicides is the most common approach, several mechanical methods are also available, including mowing, tillage, and roller-crimping.
Required Operational Expenditures (OpEx)

Seed cost: Seeds are the largest expense associated with cover crops. The cost increases as farmers introduce more diverse cover crop species, such as legumes, which are often more expensive. While farms can grow and harvest seeds from their cover crops to offset these costs, this practice requires additional equipment and adds complexity to the farming operation.
Termination expenses: Termination expenses associated with cover crops may not exceed the costs of current spring field preparation. If farmers typically use pre-emergent weed control at planting, they may need to switch to a burndown herbicide or a combination of burndown and pre-emergent treatments. Similarly, if farmers already perform a spring tillage pass, they might simply choose a different implement to ensure good incorporation and proper sizing of cover crop residue.
Implementation Considerations

Cover crop planting: Timing is critical when planting cover crops, as even slight delays can significantly impact biomass accumulation. Late planting can result in inadequate growth, reducing the cover crop's effectiveness. Finding time to cover crop may be challenging for dairies who often have to prioritize cash crop harvest and managing fall manure applications. Rainy conditions may prevent farmers from being able to enter fields. For instance, early frost or unseasonable rainfall can hinder the establishment or termination of cover crops, disrupting the entire crop cycle. This timing challenge is particularly complex in regions with short growing seasons, where the window for successfully integrating cover crops is narrow.
Cover crops and fall manure management: Many farms need to land-apply manure in the fall to ensure there is adequate manure storage throughout the winter. However, some regional ordinances or nutrient management plans require manure to be incorporated into the soil. These regulations present additional challenges to farms interested in planting a fall cover crop.
Cover crop termination timing: Deciding when to terminate a cover crop requires striking a balance between maximizing biomass production for soil health benefits and minimizing risks to the timely planting and emergence of the cash crop. Terminating too early minimizes the cover crop's soil health and weed suppression benefits. Delaying termination can increase the risk of cover crops becoming “weeds” or interfering with the planting process.
Impact on soil moisture: Early termination may be necessary in dry conditions to conserve soil moisture, while late termination may be beneficial in wet springs to manage excess moisture. Both scenarios can introduce additional management complexities and costs.
Impact on forage planting conditions: If termination is delayed too long and the cover crop is too mature or too big, the dead cover crop can turn into a thick mat that will keep the ground from drying out. A thick mat/mulch can delay cash crop germination and vigor (early season rate of growth). In addition, cover crops can wrap and bind around the many rotating elements of a planter or drill. The residues can create a slimy mat, particularly after rain events, and interfere with opening disks' ability to form a seed trench or become hair pinned in the seed trench. These risks can be mitigated by thoughtfully timing termination, adjusting planter components, and "planting green."
Impact on nutrient management: The decomposition rate of cover crops is influenced by their lignin content, with more lignified (mature) cover crops decomposing more slowly. This slower decomposition delays nutrient release, which can impact nutrient availability for the cash crop. Additionally, mature cover crops with a high carbon-to-nitrogen ratio can temporarily "tie up" nitrogen during decomposition, a process called nitrogen immobilization. This means that nitrogen applied in the spring or fall may be less available to the subsequent cash crop because the soil microbes use nitrogen to break down the high-carbon cover crop.
Herbicide carryover/injury: Many herbicides used in conventional cropping systems can negatively impact the establishment and growth of cover crops, particularly sensitive species like legumes and brassicas. Navigating herbicide labels and ensuring compliance with rotation restrictions require careful planning and can limit the choice of cover crops.
Cash crop planting: Shorter-day cash crop varieties, such as lower relative maturity silage corn, are often better suited for crop rotations with cover crops. This is particularly advantageous when the goal is to produce significant cover crop biomass, as these shorter-season crops allow for an extended growing period for the cover crop, maximizing its benefits for soil health and nutrient management.
Financial Considerations and Revenue Streams
PROFIT POTENTIAL
While cover crops provide long-term soil health benefits, the immediate economic return may not be apparent, posing a barrier to adoption. Cover crops grown solely as green manure can often take ten or more years to produce a return on investment. By harvesting the cover crop and realizing immediate value in livestock feed, cover crops typically see a positive balance in the first year (see Cover Crops: Forage).
FEDERAL COST-SHARE PROGRAM
Funding is available for this practice through USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP).
Related EQIP Practice Standard: Cover Crop (340).
Related CSP Enhancements: Cover crop to reduce soil erosion (E340A), Intensive cover cropping to increase soil health and soil organic matter content (E340B), Use of multi-species cover crop to improve soil health and increase soil organic matter (E340C), Intensive orchard/vineyard floor cover cropping to increase soil health (E340D), Use of soil health assessment to assist with the development of cover crop mix to improve soil health (E340E), Cover crop to minimize soil compaction (E340F), Cover crop to reduce water quality degradation by utilizing excess soil nutrients (E340G), Cover crops to suppress excessive weed pressures and break pest cycles (E340H), Using cover crops for biological strip till (E340I), Cover crop to improve moisture use efficiency and reduce salts (E340J).
Notes:
Check with the local NRCS office on payment rates and crop rotations relevant to your location.
Programs may cover single-species cover crops or change from single-species to multi-species cover crop mixes.
Check both cost-share and crop insurance requirements specific to your area and program.
CARBON CREDITS
This practice is commonly credited in carbon markets. The practice can generate both offset and inset credits.
Notes:
To participate, operators generally need at least three years of management data prior to implementing a new practice. Common management data requirements cover planting, tillage, harvest, grazing, fertilization, liming, and residue management.
This practice would need to be new to the producer or expanded to additional acres to qualify for most programs.
In offset projects, producers have to guarantee soil carbon storage for 50-100 years, though avoided emissions (for example, from nitrous oxide reductions) do not carry risks of reversals (see Verra methodology and Climate Action Reserve's Soil Enrichment Protocol).
Producers typically are protected against natural disasters or unintended carbon reversals when they contribute to a carbon insurance or "buffer" pool. Intentional reversals from intensive tillage or land sales may require operators to return proceeds from the project.
The length of inset commitments would vary based on the opportunity with the corporate partner.
Credit amounts vary widely based on past management, location, weather, and the interaction between practices. A high-level estimate can be calculated using USDA COMET-Planner.
FINANCIAL RESOURCES, TOOLS, AND CASE STUDIES
Cover Crop Economics (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education)
Economics of Cover Crops (Pennsylvania State University)
Additional Resources
Article: Making Cover Crops Work in the Northeast: Termination Strategies for Success (Cornell University)
Article: Selecting Cover Crop Seeding Machinery (University of Missouri)
Book: Managing Cover Crops Profitably (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education)
Surveys: National Cover Crop Surveys (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education)
Cover Crop Selection Tools:

Environmental Impacts
REDUCES FARM GREENHOUSE GAS FOOTPRINT
Cover crops can positively impact a farm's greenhouse gas footprint in several ways. Cover crops absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide through photosynthesis and store it in the soil as organic carbon. This helps reduce the overall carbon footprint of farming operations by trapping carbon in the soil for long periods, contributing to carbon sequestration. Cover crops also reduce spring soil nitrate levels, which helps lower nitrous oxide emissions. Additionally, legume cover crops can fix atmospheric nitrogen, reducing the need for synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, which are energy-intensive to produce.
See research highlights:
Meta-analyses reveal that cover crops can increase soil organic carbon (SOC) by approximately 7.3% on average, with potential increases as high as 15.5%, depending on factors like soil type, cover crop biomass, and management practices. The sequestration effect is most pronounced in the top 30 cm of the soil, where the majority of organic matter from cover crops accumulates and stabilizes. Importantly, the type of cover crop, whether leguminous or non-leguminous, influences the rate of SOC increase, with all types showing positive impacts on SOC, though mixed species and legumes tend to be particularly effective (Sanford et al., 2021; Jian et al. 2020).
IMPROVES WATER QUALITY
Cover crops act as nutrient scavengers, absorbing residual nitrogen and other nutrients that remain in the soil after the primary crop is harvested. By taking up these nutrients, cover crops prevent them from leaching into groundwater or running off into surface water. By covering the soil surface, cover crops protect it from the erosive forces of wind and water. This reduces the amount of sediment that gets carried away by runoff, helping to prevent soil particles, along with attached nutrients and pesticides, from entering streams and rivers. The root systems of cover crops, especially deep-rooted species, break up compacted soil layers and create channels for water infiltration. This improves water percolation into the soil, reducing surface runoff and helping to replenish groundwater supplies. Lastly, harvested cover crops contribute organic matter to the soil, enhancing its structure and water-holding capacity. This allows the soil to retain more moisture, reducing the risk of surface runoff during heavy rainfall (Blanoc-Canqui, 2018; Dabney et al., 2001; Sharpley et al., 1991).
SUPPORTS BIODIVERSITY
Double-cropping can enhance biodiversity by providing habitat and food sources for various organisms. Many cover crops, such as clover, attract and support pollinators like bees and butterflies.

Alignment with FARM Program
FARM Environmental Stewardship (ES) V2-V3 Alignment
FARM ES Version 3 captures the benefits of cover crops in the optional crop module. FARM ES users are able to designate crops planted as cover crops so the model can account for the various benefits. The optional FARM ES Conservation Practice Questionnaire (CPQ) also includes opportunities for farms to indicate planting of cover crops.
Contents
We're always eager to update the website with the latest research, implementation insights, financial case studies, and emerging practices. Use the link above to share your insights.
We're always eager to update the website with the latest research, implementation insights, financial case studies, and emerging practices. Use the link above to share your insights.
Cover crops are grasses, legumes, and forbs grown when cash crops are not being grown (usually late fall, winter, and early spring) to provide vegetative cover throughout the entire year. They are not cash crops but are planted to scavenge soil nutrients, fix inorganic nitrogen, reduce erosion and compaction, incrementally increase organic matter, and build soil structure. The degree to which cover crops contribute to these soil health improvements depends on soil type, cover crop species selection, and planting and termination practices.
Practical considerations often drive cover crop species selection; farmers select cover crops based on goals, the cost and availability of seeds, the optimal seeding date, the chosen seeding method, and the planned termination strategy. Cover crops are broadly categorized into four types: grasses, cereal grains, legumes, and brassicas/forbs:
Grasses like annual ryegrass and sorghum-sudangrass are popular for their rapid growth and soil structure improvement.
Cereal grains such as barley, oats, cereal rye, triticale, and wheat are valued for their winter hardiness and erosion control.
Legumes, including vetch, clovers, sunn hemp, and peas, enrich the soil with nitrogen.
Brassicas/forbs like radish, mustards, turnips, rape, and buckwheat are known for breaking up soil compaction and suppressing weeds.
Cover crops can be successfully established through a variety of planting strategies with varying benefits and challenges. Seeding cover crop with a seed drill requires special equipment and takes more time, but it provides better seed-to-soil contact and more efficient use of seed. Broadcast seeding generally requires more seed to ensure adequate establishment, but it is much quicker and requires less labor. Broadcast seeding with light incorporation can allow for excellent seed-to-soil contact but, again, can require more labor and soil disturbance.
Cover crop establishment can occur during multiple windows throughout the growing season. Cover crops can be directly seeded into the growing crop at various crop growth stages. Interseeding can occur before the crop canopies by broadcast application (sometimes with fertilizer) or with a specialized drill. Cover crops are also broadcasted later in the season with high-boy equipment or through aerial application. Cover crops are most often seeded following the harvest of the cash crop. Seeding can occur through broadcast application, mixed with manure and applied in a slurry, or drill-seeded.
Timely termination of cover crops is essential to prevent them from competing with the subsequent cash crops for resources such as moisture, sunlight, and nutrients. Termination timing and methods depend on access to equipment, cover crop maturity, weather, and goals. In general, farms can either terminate cover crops before planting cash crops (traditional method) or after planting cash crops ("planting green"):
Winter termination: Some cover crops, particularly those that are not winter-hardy, will naturally die off (winterkill) during colder months, eliminating the need for active termination.
Mechanical termination: This includes methods like tillage, mowing, roller crimping, or grazing, which physically uproot or damage the cover crop. The effectiveness of mechanical termination depends heavily on the species selected and the timing of the operation.
Chemical termination: Herbicides, such as 2,4-D, glyphosate, and paraquat, are commonly used to terminate cover crops, either before planting or, in the case of herbicide-resistant cash crops, during or after planting.
Cover crops can also be harvested as forage. To learn more, see Cover Crops: Forage.
Practices and technologies
Cover Crops: Non-Feed
alternative practice name:
Green Manure