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The administration is simultaneously looking of crop insurance based on data showing that
to accelerate through the development of those the practice cuts the risk of growing corn and
carbon markets and “climate-smart” commod- other cash crops.
ities through funding for a series of pilot proj- The proposed cover crop payment program
ects that will be announced next year. Among is estimated to cost $5 billion over a five-year
the ideas suggested to USDA is the use of period. Farmers could receive the $25 per acre
cover crops and other conservation practices to payment on up to 1,000 acres, and if they don’t
lower the carbon footprint of corn that’s sold own their land, their landlords would qualify for
for fuel ethanol production. USDA is expected an additional $5 per acre as an inducement to
to release rules for project funding in the first allow the practice. The median cost of plant-
quarter of 2022. ing and terminating cover crops is $37 an acre,

There are concerns that accelerating the use of according to the USDA-funded Sustainable
cover crops with an infusion of government cash Agriculture Research and Education program.
could lead to seed shortages and incentivize the The Agriculture Department would write rules
overuse of limited irrigation water, all while pro- to determine eligibility for the program and the
viding no benefits to farmers in dry areas where requirements for cover crops. USDA also would
there is too little water for both cover crops and be responsible for verifying the cover crop acre-
cash crops like wheat. age, something it could do with a separate $600
But Nick Smith, a farmer in central Iowa who million account earmarked in the bill for “car-
has been planting cover crops for 10 years, is bon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions
convinced it will take financial incentives to get quantification,” according to the Senate aide.
many other producers who are dubious about The Build Back Better bill also would provide
trying the practice. more than $20 billion in extra funding for the
“We’re still like a tiny, tiny, tiny minority of farm bill conservation programs, including the
people in the world that are doing” cover crops, highly popular Environmental Quality Incen-
Smith said. tives Program. The funding could be used in
part for cover crops as well as a range of other
“You don’t know if you don’t try, and lots of “climate-smart” measures, including feed addi-
times the arguments you hear from farmers who tives that reduce methane emissions in cattle.
are stuck in their ways are, ‘Well, why would I
pay to put seed out there and then have to pay After recent revisions, the bill also addresses
to kill it?’ So that’s where the mental roadblock what cover crop advocates say is a critical need:
is, and that’s where these programs can help get advisers who can mentor farmers on the use of
past that.” cover crops and other conservation practices.
The bill would earmark $2.35 billion over 10
The Senate staffer said the direct payment years for conservation technical assistance,
program would give farmers a more flexible roughly about what NRCS currently spends in
alternative to trying to get funding through the one year.
oversubscribed farm bill conservation programs Prospects for the bill in the 50-50 Senate are
managed by USDA’s Natural Resources Conser- uncertain. Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia
vation Service. “This is a way for folks to maybe Democrat whose vote is crucial to passing the
dip their toes in the water,” the staffer said.
bill, announced Sunday that he couldn’t support
There also are proposals in development to fur- the legislation, dooming the bill in its current
ther incentivize cover crops by reducing the cost form. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer,

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