NEVADA, Iowa – [Last] week Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03) and Rep. Sean Casten (IL-06) introduced the Conservation Opportunity and Voluntary Environment Resilience Program (COVER) Act, which will provide a $5/acre insurance premium subsidy to farmers who plant cover crops to incentivize this important soil health practice.
Planting cover crops is a critical conservation practice that reduces production risk, prevents erosion, improves soil health and water quality, enhances soil water availability, suppresses weeds, helps control pests and diseases, increases biodiversity, mitigates greenhouse gas emissions and sequesters carbon. Aside from the ecosystem benefits, cover crops also offer economic benefits for individual farmers; planting cover crops can lead to savings on inputs like fertilizer and herbicides and improved yields over time.
“Iowa farmers should have incentives to use innovative conservation
Specifically, the COVER Act will:
- Help Producers Maintain Cover Crop Systems: Creates the Good Steward Cover Crop Program to provide producers a $5 per acre premium subsidy when they enroll in a covered insurance program and plant cover crops for conservation purposes.
- This program will be fully voluntary and not require farmers to plant cover crops in order to be eligible for crop insurance.
- Authorize Additional Funding for Technical Assistance: Reserves $5 million for technical assistance, outreach, and program support to help producers access the Good Steward Cover Crop Program.
- Create a Soil Health Pilot Program: Authorizes USDA to evaluate how additional premium subsidies can be offered for other soil health practices that reduce risk and comply with the goals of the FCIP.
The COVER Act is endorsed by Iowa Farmers Union, Illinois Farm Bureau, Practical Farmers of Iowa, Danone, Unilever, Natural Resources Defense Council, American Farmland Trust, National Wildlife Federation, Green Cover Seed, Izaak Walton League of America, GO Seed, E2, Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, and Farm Action Fund.
Bill text can be found here.
— Iowa Farmers Union