Cover crops are no longer an all-or-nothing proposition for many farmers—and a new national survey shows that flexibility may be one of the keys to expanding their use across U.S. agriculture.
The 2026 National Cover Crop Report released Sept. 1 found continued strong interest in cover crops among farmers producing a wide range of crops and livestock. Among the 657 farmers surveyed across 46 states and Puerto Rico, average cover-crop acreage reached 397.9 acres, with growers projecting that figure will surpass 400 acres next year.
The report, produced by the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC), USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program and American Seed Trade Association (ASTA), marks the ninth national cover crop survey conducted since 2013.
Perhaps more importantly, nearly half of the farmers using cover crops have 10 or more years of experience with the practice—providing a window into how growers are moving beyond simply asking whether cover crops work and instead determining when, where and how they make the most economic sense.
Cover crops aren’t a yes-or-no decision
The latest survey challenges the idea that farmers can simply be divided into cover-crop users and non-users.
More than 60% of current cover-crop users said there are years when they don’t plant covers on certain fields. Late harvest of the preceding cash crop was the leading reason, cited by 41.8% of respondents. Wet or dry conditions that prevented planting followed at 38.6%, while 38% cited a lack of time or labor.
Ryan Heiniger, CTIC executive director and an Iowa farmer, says those decisions should be viewed as part of adaptive farm management—not as farmers abandoning cover crops.
“Though many fans of cover crops can’t imagine not using them, other farmers choose whether or not to plant covers based on economics, field conditions, crop rotations, or other factors,” Heiniger says.
That flexibility could be critical to bringing more acres into the practice.
Farmers who previously used cover crops were classified in this year’s survey as “intermittent users” rather than former users. Of those farmers, 28.6% said they were definitely or probably open to using cover crops again, while another 34.7% said maybe.
Even among farmers who have never used cover crops, the door isn’t closed. Nearly three-fourths—73.5%—said they were open to trying them.
The message for conservation advocates and policymakers is clear: There may be a substantial pool of farmers willing to adopt cover crops when the economics, timing and management fit their operations.
Incentives can tip the scales
Financial incentives remain one of the strongest tools for reducing the risk of trying cover crops.
Among 256 survey respondents who received an incentive payment for cover crops in 2025, 81.6% said they probably or definitely would continue using the practice. Only 4.7% said they probably would not continue beyond the incentive period.
Among intermittent users who had received incentive payments, 70% said the payments helped motivate them to try cover crops by reducing financial risk or offsetting direct costs.
The design of those programs matters, however.
Farmers favored programs with easy enrollment and clear terms. Among growers who had not participated in incentive programs, lack of familiarity with carbon markets or other program details represented the biggest hurdle, accounting for 48.4% of responses.
Long-term commitments were a concern for 32.4%, while 19.6% cited insufficient payment. Eligibility and unpredictable payments also presented barriers.
Only 13.8% said a lack of interest was the reason they did not participate.
That suggests the challenge may not be convincing farmers that cover crops have value. It may be creating programs that make it easier—and less financially risky—for farmers to capture that value.
USDA Farm Production and Conservation Under Secretary Richard Fordyce says that conservation practices such as cover crops can strengthen soil health while supporting long-term farm productivity and profitability.
The payoff is showing up beyond the soil
The survey also provides encouraging evidence that farmers are seeing agronomic benefits from cover crops.
Respondents reported an average 3.5-bushel-per-acre increase in corn yields and a 1.4-bushel-per-acre increase in soybean yields following cover crops.
Weed control was another potential benefit. More than 31% of all cover-crop users reported improved weed control following cover crops.
Among growers who “planted green”—planting their cash crop into a living, standing cover crop—the response was dramatically higher, with 87% reporting better weed control.
For farmers already balancing tight margins, those types of benefits can change the calculation surrounding cover-crop costs.
Cover crops could also feed more cattle
The survey points to another opportunity that could resonate particularly strongly across the Corn Belt: integrating cover crops with livestock.
One-third of cover-crop users said they graze their covers or harvest them for livestock consumption. Of those who grazed cover crops, 77% said the practice increased their profitability.
And the potential appears much larger.
Two-thirds of cover-crop users aren’t currently grazing those acres, suggesting a sizable forage resource that could potentially be connected with cattle operations.
The report notes that farmers could work with cattle producers to put those acres to work—an especially intriguing prospect as the U.S. cattle industry works to rebuild its beef herd.
Technology could help expand that opportunity. Among respondents interested in virtual fencing, 85% said the technology would increase their use of cover-crop grazing.
That could give farmers more flexibility to control where and when cattle graze without requiring traditional permanent fencing across every acre.
Drones take flight
Cover-crop management is also becoming a proving ground for emerging technology.
The 2026 survey found 16.3% of cover-crop users reported working with drones for cover-crop seeding or termination.
That’s a striking increase from just a few years ago.
In the 2023 National Cover Crop Report, only one out of 553 cover-crop users reported seeding covers with a drone.
The rapid change suggests drones could become another tool farmers use to address one of cover crops’ biggest challenges: getting seed established when the window between harvesting one crop and planting the next is tight.
Seed supply follows the demand
The growing diversity of cover-crop practices also has implications for the seed industry.
The survey asked farmers how they obtain or produce cover-crop seed, providing seed companies with information about what growers are planting and how demand is changing.
ASTA President and CEO Andy LaVigne says the survey helps seed producers anticipate trends and maintain supplies of professionally produced cover-crop seed.
For farmers, reliable access to the right seed at the right time remains essential. For seed companies, a growing and increasingly sophisticated cover-crop market creates opportunities to develop products tailored to different rotations, soils, livestock systems and management goals.
The next phase is making cover crops pay
The latest report paints a picture of cover crops moving deeper into mainstream farm management—but not necessarily through a one-size-fits-all approach.
Farmers are skipping covers when harvest comes late, weather closes the planting window or labor is stretched thin. They’re experimenting with grazing, planting green, drones and virtual fencing. They’re also responding to incentives when those programs reduce risk and are straightforward to navigate.
Dr. Rob Myers of the University of Missouri, who has led the national survey since its inception, says the value of the report extends beyond tracking acreage.
The surveys, he says, have increasingly documented farmers’ understanding of the benefits of cover crops and the management strategies that help make the practice successful.
For farmers, that may be the most important takeaway from the 2026 report.
The future of cover crops may not be about putting a cover crop on every acre, every year. It may be about putting the right cover crop on the right acre at the right time—and making sure the numbers work.
Visit www.sare.org/covercropsurvey to download the CTIC/SARE/ASTA 2026 National Cover Crop Report or read previous reports dating back to 2013.
