Cover Crops

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Thousands of producers hoping to implement more conservation practices on their farms are lining up for government assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentives and Conservation Stewardship programs, as the Agriculture Department touts the promises of climate-smart agriculture as a mitigator of climate change. But these programs, despite their billion dollar budgets, aren’t equipped to deal with this demand, forcing the agency to turn away the majority of applicants.

With climate change mitigation and carbon reduction a top priority of the Biden administration, the organic sector wants to make sure it isn’t left behind.

Farmers will be banned from applying chlorpyrifos to food crops starting Monday unless farm groups can persuade an appeals court to intervene, and experts say many growers lack reliable alternatives for controlling insect pests.

In water-strapped states like Texas, producers are using irrigation to reap the benefits of cover crops. Producers in other states, while not directly irrigating cover crops, see a benefit in the water requirements of their cash crops. 

Three major farm groups are hoping to double the amount of cover crops planted in the United States through an initiative targeting Midwestern corn and soybean farmers.

The Biden administration is launching the application process for a $1 billion program that will test ways farms of all sizes can profit from the low-carbon commodities they produce through practices that cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee are raising concerns the Biden administration is putting too much emphasis on promoting climate-related ag practices, with one GOP member suggesting the policy was increasing food prices.

Farmers will need significant incentives to plant incentives to plant more cover crops, and the subsidies will likely need to increase as the government’s acreage goals rise, according to a study by economists at The Ohio State University and the University of Illinois.

A new farm operating loan will come with a lower interest rate to producers who achieve certain climate change and water quality benchmarks.

USDA is far from the only part of the federal government with authority in areas affecting the ag and food industries. Farmers and agribusiness in general need to keep a close eye on what comes out of the Environmental Protection Agency, Labor Department, Interior Department and Food and Drug Administration.