Program Overview
Seeding fall cover crops? Our cost-share program can help you reach your goals!
Key Benefits
- Receive $15 per acre with no acre cap. Enrollment is first-come, first-served and will close once the program's allotted acres are filled.
- Farmers with less than two years of cover crops experience receive support from a PFI staff agronomist to help with successful adoption.
- The program can be stacked with the publicly funded cost-share programs including IDALS WQI, NRCS EQIP or CSP.
Eligibility
- Participants must farm in eligible counties in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska or South Dakota.
- Participants must establish a cover crop that will proceed a corn or soybean crop the following spring.
- Eligible cover crops can be a single-species or a multi-species mix.
- Eligible species can winterkill or overwinter.
- Seeding rates are at the discretion of the farmer.
- Cover crops must be seeded by Dec. 1.
- Acres must be conventionally managed; certified organic acres are not eligible.
- Farmers who do not grow corn in 2026 but include corn in their crop rotation remain eligible for the cost-share program.
- Farmers who feed all their grain to livestock or use all grain o- farm are not eligible. This is a change from previous years.
- The program can be stacked with the publicly funded cost-share programs including IDALS WQI, NRCS EQIP or CSP. See our FAQ's for more guidelines.
- Farmer cannot participate in any privately funded cost-share program, such as a carbon market (ex. Indigo, SWOF, TruCarbon, etc.). See our FAQ's for more guidelines.
- Farmers must provide their USDA-FSA Certification documents (578s and maps) in order to participate in our cost-share. A farmer will sign a release allowing PFI to contact the FSA office and collect these documents on their behalf.
- Any farmer – regardless of level of experience with cover crops – is eligible.
- Grazing and mechanical harvest of cover crops is allowed and encouraged.
Program Steps
- Enroll on PFI's website. Enrollment opens July 1, 2026.
- Sign an electronic agreement
- This is a non-binding agreement between Practical Farmers of Iowa and the contract holder. If for some reason the contract conditions cannot be satisfied, the contract will be canceled with no cost-share paid on the enrolled acres and with no penalty to the contract holder. Note that contracts can be cancelled through Jan. 1, 2027. After that point, payments are processed and any contracts previously signed will receive payment.
- Talk to a PFI agronomist if new to cover crops to discuss cover crop management plan.
- Farmers with less than two years of experience with cover crops will discuss their plan with a PFI agronomist, including discussion of species selection, seeding and termination methods and timing, and anything else of interest to the farmer.
- Farmers with more than two years of experience with cover crops are welcome to speak with a PFI agronomist as well, though they are not required.
- Attend a learning event (connect with other farmers!).
- Examples of learning events: Field days, webinars, shared learning calls or other cover crop related events.
- Note: If attending an event in person isn’t feasible, then viewing a recording of an event is satisfactory. See PFI’s YouTube channel for virtual options available.
- Receive complimentary one-year membership to Practical Farmers of Iowa.
- Learn more about membership benefits. If you’d like any family members to be included on your membership, please ensure their names are listed on your application.
- Submit cover crop documentation no later than Dec. 8, 2026.
- Cover crop receipts must either show the amount of seed purchased or total acres seeded.
- Documentation can be sent at any time via text or email to gro.sremraflacitcarp@sporcrevoc with your name in the subject line.
- Submit a wrap-up survey with program feedback no later than Dec. 8, 2026.
- The survey will take about 15-20 minutes to complete. Documentation, as outlined above, can also be submitted by uploading them to this form.
- Complete production survey if selected.
- All payments will be processed by June 1, 2027.
- Payments this year will be processed by a third party, not by PFI.
Key Dates
| July 1 - Oct. 1 | Enrollment period or until the program’s allotted acres are filled. |
| Dec. 1 | Cover crops must be seeded. |
| Dec. 8 | Cover crop documentation must be submitted, and wrap-up survey must be completed. |
| Jan. 1, 2027 | Last date contracts can be cancelled. |
| June 1, 2027 | All payments have been processed. |
Frequently Asked Questions
This year, producers cannot enroll in PFI’s cover crop cost-share if they are also enrolled in a privately funded cost-share or carbon program.
The program can be stacked with the publicly funded cost-share programs including IDALS WQI, NRCS EQIP or CSP.
Nope! You're encouraged to apply before you seed your cover crop. Applications can be submitted before or after the cover crop is seeded. Estimated cover crop acres are acceptable at enrollment. You will confirm the final number of cover-cropped acres in the wrap-up survey.
No, PFI's cover crop cost-share is not a carbon credit program. The companies that fund the program are interested in making their corn and soybean supply chains more sustainable, which involves supporting farmers who implement cover crops. The funders are counting the “good” of the cover crop toward Scope3 emissions reductions.
Our funders are not buying organic corn or soybeans, so to be eligible, applicants must enroll nonorganic land. Any acres transitioning to organic are eligible.
Yes, contracts are nonbinding and applicants can cancel at any time. However, within the program year, contracts must be canceled by Jan. 1, 2027. After that point, payments are processed, and any contracts previously signed will receive payment.
Due to the reach of the program, all paperwork is completed electronically. Applications and surveys can be completed over the phone for additional assistance but are not mailed. Mailing exceptions for contracts are made on a case-by-case basis.
We have two hard deadlines: Applications are due Oct. 1, 2026 but the application period may close early if the program's allotted acres are filled. All paperwork and documentation (contracts, receipts, FSA documents, surveys, etc.) are due Dec. 8, 2026.
We do not have a specific program for seeding a spring cover crop like the fall program; however, we have an extended rotations cost-share for anyone growing a small grain and following it with a legume cover crop. Learn more about PFI’s various cost-shares.
As long as you have corn in your year-over-year rotations, you are eligible for the cover crop cost-share.
You are not eligible. This is a change from previous years.
Resources
Find Cover Crops
Looking for cover crop seed or services? Check out Find Cover Crops – PFI’s cover crop directory!