REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE

Cover Crops

One of the fastest-growing areas of crop management in the U.S. is the use of cover crops across many different types of fields. Cover crops are plants grown to protect and improve the soil during times when cash crops, such as grains, vegetables, cotton, and oilseeds, are not being produced. Ideally, cover crops help keep the soil covered for most or all of the year while providing the living roots that soil microbes need to support healthy soils. Cover crops can act like a Swiss Army knife, offering a variety of benefits depending on a farm’s goals. In addition to improving soil health, they can help reduce erosion, store carbon in the soil, improve weed control, manage nutrients, and support better water quality.