Midwest farmers tripled use of cover crops, but it’s still a small fraction of acres

Read the full story from St. Louis Public Radio.

The University of Illinois completed a study late last year using a combination of USDA reports and satellite images to produce the most accurate survey of cover crop usage in the Midwest. The study found that in the past 10 years, the number of acres with cover crops tripled — from 1.8% to 7.2%.

It’s a big jump but still a small number of acres.