Cover cropping drew more money than any other practice under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) from fiscal years 2014 to 2025, measured by total dollars obligated, according to a Chart of Note published on 30 April 2026 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (ERS). The chart was prepared by ERS economists Andrew B. Rosenberg and Kate Binzen Fuller.
The five most-funded practices
Cover cropping was also the top-funded practice in most individual years over the period, ERS found. Fences, used to keep livestock out of waterways and to make other conservation activities possible, and brush management were both close behind. The top five were rounded out by:
- sprinkler systems
- roofs and covers for waste management and other hazardous material containment facilities
Cover crops are plants grown to cover the soil rather than to be harvested. They reduce soil loss by improving soil structure and increasing infiltration; legumes among them add nitrogen to the soil through biological fixation, and dense stands help suppress weeds. Rye, oats, hairy vetch, red clover and radish are among the species commonly used.
What EQIP is and how much it spends
EQIP is a voluntary programme run by USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), created by Congress in the 1996 farm bill. It gives agricultural producers and landowners financial and technical help to put in place conservation practices that address natural resource concerns such as soil erosion, water quality and wildlife habitat. It works on land that stays in production, unlike the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which generally uses 10 to 15-year contracts to take land out of production. In terms of spending, the two are USDA's largest conservation programmes.
NRCS targets EQIP money to producers and landowners to meet a balance of federal, state and local priorities. ERS figures show EQIP funding rose from $1.75 billion in fiscal 2019 to $2.025 billion in fiscal 2023. Funding for the programme was approximately $1.6 billion in 2025, excluding money provided under the Inflation Reduction Act.
Part of a wider ERS review
The chart updates information in the ERS report Status and Trends of USDA Conservation Programs, 2002-2025, published in March 2026, in which EQIP funding is one of five conservation trends analysed. According to ERS, the 2014 and 2018 Farm Acts held total budgeted conservation spending between $6.5 billion and $7.5 billion a year in 2025 dollars.
The ranking shows where the programme's money has actually gone: soil cover between cash crops first, then livestock exclusion and rangeland brush control, irrigation upgrades and manure and waste facilities.
Photo: USDA NRCS South Dakota / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Sources: USDA Economic Research Service (Chart of Note and the report Status and Trends of USDA Conservation Programs, 2002-2025), ERS Conservation Programs topic page, Wikipedia
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