Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is offering increased costshare incentives for cover crop planting through the state’s Water Quality Initiative.
The annual cost-share program, which is available to eligible first-time users as well as returning participants, is now open for Iowa farmers to begin enrolling their acres.
Farmers who are planting cover crops for the first time are eligible for $30 per acre. Farmers who have already experienced the benefits of using cover crops and are returning participants can receive $20 per acre. These figures represent increases of $5 per acre from last year. Additionally, producers transitioning acres to no-till or strip-till are eligible for $10 per acre. New users can also receive $3 per acre for utilizing a nitrogen inhibitor when applying fall fertilizer.
Cost share funding through this program is limited to 160 acres per participant.
