National Cover Crop Survey Indicates Crop Advisor Interest

The eighth National Cover Crop Survey, released by the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC), SARE, and the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA), focuses on how agricultural consultants advise farmers about cover crops. A total of 654 advisors from 46 states participated in the survey. Ryan Heiniger, executive director of the CTIC, commented, “This survey opened a window into how cover crops fit into crop consulting businesses and other advisory services. We also observed that seeing is believing, which is borne out by the fact that approximately 70% of the respondents who farm themselves use cover crops on their own operations, and those cover crop users are more inclined to advise their clients on the practice.” Among the survey findings, 56.9% of the farm advisors expect to see cover crop acreage continue to increase. They also expect farmers to continue increasing use of cover crop mixes (46.7%) and trying ways of combining other soil health practices with cover crops (52.9%).
Related ATTRA publication: Overview of Cover Crops and Green Manures