Farmers around the country are planting cover crops on millions of acres to protect and improve the soil, and the more that farmers use cover crops, the more they value this conservation practice. Cover Crop Economics: Opportunities to Improve Your Bottom Line in Row Crops looks at the economics of cover crops in corn and soybean rotations to help farmers answer that big question: when do cover crops pay?

Based primarily on yield and economic data gathered through five years of national cover crop surveys, Cover Crop Economics: Opportunities to Improve Your Bottom Line in Row Crops addresses the kinds of economic returns that can be expected from cover crops, both under various management scenarios and as cover crops improve soil health over time. Because there is no one-size-fits-all answer to when cover crops start paying for themselves, it explores seven common management situations for commodity farmers that can affect how quickly they receive a positive net return from cover crop from transitioning to no-till to water management.