OMAHA (DTN) -- Cover crops should be more affordable this fall for producers.

Cereal rye is about 25% cheaper because of higher production, said Keith Berns, who co-owns the cover crop seed company Green Cover in Nebraska.

Farmers can put on 40 to 50 pounds of cereal rye for roughly $10 to $12 an acre in seed costs.

"That's simply because we had a pretty good production year, the rye growers," Berns said last week at Husker Harvest Days. "Then a lot of this is tied to other ag commodity prices so everything kind of dropped with corn and soybeans, which drive everything."

Though more expensive than rye, brassicas such as turnips, radishes, collards and kale are also about 10% cheaper this year, Berns said. Brassicas are good at absorbing nitrogen out of the soil and holding it, he noted.

"It can really help tie up some of that excess nitrogen and help cycle it for the next crop," he said.

As prices for some cash crops have fallen, farmers who grow cover crops for seed have increased their acres, Berns said. Some guys are willing to grow it for a lower price because the opportunities aren't there to grow high-dollar corn and beans.

"If we're going to get acres to grow cover-crop seed you have to steal them from corn, beans, wheat or some other commodity. So, it just takes a little less money to steal those acres right now because of where commodities are at," Berns said.

OTHER PRACTICAL BENEFITS

Doug Martin, who farms in central Illinois, said other farmers in his area who have been reluctant to add cover crops are coming around to a different perspective because they have seen how cover crops can help reduce pressure from a growing number of herbicide-resistant weeds such as waterhemp.

"We've seen that in the last year or two for sure," Martin said. "The waterhemp control issue with cereal rye has caught the attention of a lot of people. I think that's a way to get this introduced to some farmers where they can see a benefit from it. We definitely see it catching on, if nothing else just in conversations we've had with neighbors."

MULTIPLE PROGRAM OPTIONS

Check with your local USDA Service Center about grants in specific states. For instance, a USDA grant is funding a cover crop program through the state departments of agriculture in Illinois, Indiana and Iowa this year. The Iowa program has a Sept. 18 deadline to apply.

"Cover crops are one of the most effective practices in the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy that farmers and landowners can use to improve water quality and enhance soil health," said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. "We've seen incredibly strong demand for cover crops cost-share this summer and fall, to the point that we've already set a new record for investment, and our county offices are reporting that requests continue to roll in."

That led Naig to increase funding and extend the application deadline. "I welcome both new and returning program participants to take advantage of cost-share to get more acres covered this fall. Visit your local USDA Service Center to sign up before the busy harvest season begins," Naig stated.

ADM's re:generations is just one of several programs out there right now seeking to expand their reach. Each program has its own specific requirements, deadlines, states where they operate and payment structure.

This is a partial list of options:

For more information on ADM's re:generations, click here: https://admadvantage.com/….

Another program is Farmers for Soil Health, which operates across 20 states. Farmers for Soil Health also launched a podcast, "The Grow Down on Soil Health," that can be listened to on Apple or Spotify. More information can be found at https://farmersforsoilhealth.com/….

Bayer also has its program, ForGround, that is offering a bonus payment to producers who plant cover crops in 2025. https://bayerforground.com/…

Cargill also has its RegenConnect program: https://regenconnect.cargill.com/….

Editor's note: DTN is a contractor for one of the Farmers for Soil Health program.

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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