Across the United States, there are many programs supporting the adoption of cover crops. The table below presents some of those programs, available at the federal and state levels, and summarizes their main characteristics. For the programs at the state level, we focused on the states where our Social Science Team at the University of Georgia has been conducting interviews to learn about farmers’ opinions on conservation practices. The table is divided into four sheets (accessed by clicking on the tabs at the bottom of the table): 

Federal Programs

  • Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

  • Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)

  • Pandemic Cover Crop Incentive (CCCP)

Northeastern State Programs

  • Maryland

  • Pennsylvania

  • Vermont

Southeastern State Programs

  • Georgia

  • North Carolina

  • South Carolina

Midwestern State Programs

  • Iowa

  • Missouri

  • Ohio

The information used to fill the table is linked at the bottom of each column. In addition, we reported our perceived strengths and limitations regarding the programs. 

The first line of the table reports the last time the content was updated. Be mindful that requirements and deadlines often change from year to year.

Note: This list is not comprehensive of programs available at the county level or those promoted by private, non-governmental, or non-profit entities. Some of the programs in the table sponsor a variety of practices, but for the scope of this work, we only focused on their support for cover crop adoption.