Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig has announced that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) will once again offer its crop insurance discount program for cover crops. Now in its 6th year, the program offers farmers and landowners who plant fall cover crops the opportunity to apply for a $5-per-acre discount on spring crop insurance premiums. The opportunity to sign up will begin on December 1.

Sec. Naig said cover crop adoption has rapidly grown, contributing to healthier soils and improved water quality statewide. Producers are able to sign up for the program starting in December. Managed by the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA), approximately 1,800 farmers have enrolled nearly one million acres of cover crops in the program. The program has since been adopted into similar models in Illinois and Indiana.

Read more on the crop insurance discount for cover crops here.