Conquering Cover Crop Challenges

Soil Health Demonstration Trials: Conquering Cover Crop Challenges Coast to Coast 

Project Purpose

To showcase farmer-driven solutions to regional and cropping system barriers to cover crop adoption.

Project Description

Conquering Cover Crop Challenges from Coast to Coast, a project funded through a CIG On-Farm Trials grant of $2.6 million, tested innovative solutions that helped overcome regional and crop-specific barriers to cover crop adoption as part of farmers’ soil health management system adoption journeys on fifteen farms in five states and three geographic regions. The project included 5 years of evaluation of comprehensive soil, economic, and social factors and outcomes. Specifically, the demonstration project: 

• Addressed cover crop establishment challenges unique to high value, high-input specialty crops, and high disturbance vegetable row cropping in water-limited valleys in California by demonstrating the benefits of cover crop and compost adoption;

• Explored diversifying the traditional corn-soybean rotation and enhancing soil health in Kentucky by converting from a typical corn-bean system to a diversified rotation of corn-rye-soybeans-cover crop; the rye was no-till planted into corn residue on farms that mainly already used conservation tillage;

• Addressed cover crop timing and termination challenges in cool, humid regions in (1) New York by demonstrating benefits and technical considerations of implementing a technique called “planting green” and (2) in Connecticut and Massachusetts, demonstrating how shorter maturity silage corn varieties can improve cover crop establishment in systems currently using or interested in adopting no-till practices, and can effectively improve dairy economics by being harvested as green chop;

• Optimized nitrogen inputs to cover crop integration through adaptive management as part of the overall Soil Health Management Systems in New York.

To provide solutions to regional and crop-specific adoption barriers, we developed:

Project Activities

AFT partnered with 13 local conservation districts, university extension departments, and the private sector across five states. The project team:

• Collected over 600 soil samples and conducted annual in-field assessments that provided valuable, short-term data for NRCS’ emerging national soil health database;

• Informed further updates to AFT’s soil health economic calculator created under a 2018 CIG grant — Quantifying Economic and Environmental Benefits of Soil Health – to better analyze farmer’s existing soil health management systems and to predict long-term potential to improved soil health-related economic gains (you can find that tool and economic case studies here);

• Conducted social indicator surveys that pinpointed the project strategies that were most effective at supporting farmers in adopting a soil health management system;

• Provided financial support to farms to compensate for the risks involved in experimenting with new cover crop management techniques;

• Provided technical support to farms as they encountered obstacles to adapt management strategies; and

• Shared key findings with farmers and agricultural professionals to encourage adoption of conservation practices by neighboring farmers. 

Projects by Region

CALIFORNIA

State Leads: Paul Lum, Tom Stein (Former team members also included Krista Marshall)

Soil Health Practices: cover crop mixtures & compost application

Commodities: almond, wine grape, vegetables

NEW YORK

State Leads: Aaron Ristow, Stephanie Castle, Caitlin Tucker

Soil Health Practices: multi-species cover crop mixtures, optimizing N management that accounts for cover crop dynamics, termination timing, planting green, conservation tillage

Commodities: wheat, corn silage, corn for grain, soybean

CONNECTICUT & MASSACHUSETTS

State Leads: Caro Roszell (Former team members also included Emily Cole)

Soil Health Practices: Rye, wheat, triticale cover crops and mixtures, cover crop for green chop, conservation/ no-till, short maturity corn varieties

Commodity: Corn silage

KENTUCKY

State Leads: Brian Brandt. Aysha Tapp Ross (Former team members also included Scott Franklin)

Soil Health Practices: Fall/winter and summer cover crop mixtures, diverse crop rotations (including cereal rye), no-till

Commodities: Cereal rye, corn, soybean, wheat

NATIONAL PROGRAM INTERDISCIPLINARY LEADS

Soil Health Management and Climate Outcomes – Bianca Moebius-Clune (Co-PI) and Aysha Tapp Ross (Former team members also included Jennifer Moore, Shelby McClelland, Alli Fish, and Rachel Seman-Varner)

Economic and Water Outcomes – Michelle Perez (Co-PI), Robert Ellis, Ellen Yeatman, June Grabemeyer

Social Outcomes – Gabrielle McNally, Ellen Yeatman

Project Map

Project Summary

The project began in Feb 2021 and ran through Feb 2026. In 2021, twelve farmers were recruited, with the additional three starting in 2022. Baseline soil samples were taken in the spring, and demonstration trial implementation began in the fall with the first cover crop planting.  

Soil samples were collected on a yearly basis in the spring, and field operations data were collected at the conclusion of each calendar year for economic analyses. The soil assessments included the NRCS In-Field Soil Health Assessment and the Cornell Soil Health Testing Lab’s Comprehensive Assessment of Soil Health. Chemical indicators (standard nutrient analysis) were also assessed by local labs in areas outside of the Northeast where Cornell is located. Economic analysis included partial budget analysis and Level I-III T-charts. Farmers received annual reports with the past year’s soils and economic analyses. Social surveys were completed by each farmer on the first, third, and fifth year of the project, to track changes in farmer motivations for using soil health practices, the soil health outcomes desired, and barriers surrounding adopting new practices. Nine field days were also held at participating farms to showcase the project and educate participants on the importance of using soil health practices, especially cover crops.   Above are links to webinars, final social and overall project reports, case studies of participating farmers, and soil health management worksheets to help guide farmers and technical assistance providers in the cover crop decision making process.