Iowa Program Offers Crop Insurance Premium Reduction for Cover Crop Use

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) has announced a new program aimed at increasing acres of cover crops in the state. Iowa farmers who plant cover crops this fall may be eligible for a five dollar per acre premium reduction on their crop insurance in 2018. IDALS worked with the USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), which oversees the federal crop insurance program, to establish a three-year demonstration project aimed at expanding the usage of cover crops in Iowa.“We see this new crop insurance premium reduction as a great way to reach a broader group of farmers and landowners in order to promote continued interest in planting cover crops,” says Iowa deputy secretary of agriculture Mike Naig.  “This streamlined incentive coupled with traditional state and federal cost share programs provides farmers and landowners with a variety of options to gain experience with cover crops and expand their use. Cover crop seeding dates have recently been extended, so there is still an opportunity to seed more acres this fall.”The online sign-up and application process for farmers and landowners to certify eligible land for the program can be found here.