The 2026 National Cover Crop Report, released on 1 September at the Farm Progress Show, finds strong interest in cover crops among farmers producing a wide range of crops and livestock: respondents averaged 397.9 acres of cover crops and expect to cross 400 acres next year, and almost half have used the practice for ten years or more. The survey — the ninth since 2013 — is run by the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC), USDA's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education programme and the American Seed Trade Association, and was completed online by 657 farmers in 46 states and Puerto Rico.

Farmers reported a mean yield increase of 3.5 bushels an acre in corn and 1.4 bushels in soybeans after cover crops; 31.2% of users saw better weed control, rising to 87% among those who 'planted green' into standing covers. One in three users grazed covers or harvested them for livestock, and 77% of those who grazed said it raised their profit; 85% of respondents interested in virtual fencing said it would increase their cover-crop grazing. Drone use has arrived: 16.3% of users reported working with drones for seeding or termination, against one in 553 in the 2023 report.

This year the survey grouped past users as 'intermittent' rather than 'former' users, said CTIC executive director Ryan Heiniger, an Iowa farmer: 28.6% of them were definitely or probably open to covers again and 34.7% said maybe. More than 60% of users have years when they skip certain fields — late cash-crop harvest (41.8%), conditions too dry or wet (38.6%) and too little time or labour (38%) — and 73.5% of those who had never used covers were open to trying. 'Intermittent use of cover crops can be a dynamic decision, not an abandonment of the practice or its principles,' Heiniger said.

Incentives matter when well designed: of 256 users paid an incentive in 2025, 81.6% said they would probably or definitely continue and only 4.7% expected to stop when the programme ended; among past users who had been paid, 70% said the payment reduced their risk or offset costs. Unfamiliarity with carbon markets or programme details deterred 48.4% of non-participants, long-term commitments 32.4%, low payments 19.6%, eligibility 14.7% and unpredictable payments 11.9%.

'The National Cover Crop Report has become a benchmark in tracking not only the growing use of cover crops, but also the growing appreciation of cover crops' benefits,' said Dr Rob Myers of the University of Missouri, who has led the survey since it began; USDA under secretary Richard Fordyce said the department works with producers on conservation practices such as covers that 'strengthen soil health and ensure long-term productivity and profitability'. The report is available from ctic.org.

Source: CropLife