Maryland Department of Agriculture press release
Grants To Plant Cover Crops
Don’t miss this once-a-year opportunity to apply for grants to help offset seed, labor, and equipment costs to plant cover crops in your fields this fall to protect water quality and build your soil’s health. Our grants can make planting cover crops very affordable!
Why Cover Crops
It’s easy to understand why cover crops are so popular. Cover crops recycle nitrogen, reduce erosion, add valuable organic matter to the soil, and can help protect fields from too much and too little rain. Isn’t it time you put cover crops to work in your fields?
New This Year…
- The base rate to plant cover crops is $45/acre.
- The base rate to aerial seed cover crops is $50/acre.
- A $10/acre incentive is available to farmers who plant either rye or a multi-species cover crop.
Mail-in Enrollment
- Enrollment will be conducted entirely by mail.
- Applications will be mailed to farmers who participated in last year’s cover crop program and can be downloaded here from July 1 through July 16, 2021.
- Completed applications must be mailed to the local soil conservation district and postmarked between July 1, 2021 and July 16, 2021.
2021-2022 Overview and Incentive Options
- The base payment for incorporated seed is $45/acre. The base rate for aerial/aerial ground seeding is $50/acre.
- Incorporated seed qualifies for a $10/acre early planting incentive.
- Farmers who aerial seed or aerial ground seed cover crops into standing corn on or before September 10, 2021 qualify for a $10/acre incentive payment.
- Farmers who terminate cover crops after May 1, 2022 may be eligible for an Extended Season incentive payment of up to $10/acre.
- Incentives are available to plant rye and multi-species cover crops.
- Plant cover crops after corn, soybeans, sorghum tobacco, vegetables, hemp and millet.
- There is a five acre minimum. Total enrolled acres may not exceed acreage managed under the farm’s current Nutrient Management Plan.
- Direct deposit of cost-share grants is available.
Seed Requirements
- Purchased seed must be free of prohibited noxious weed seeds, have a minimum germination rate of 80%, and have no more than 16 restricted noxious weeds per pound.
- Homegrown seed with a germination rate between 65% and 79% may be used. Certain rules apply.
- Cost-share is available for seed testing.
Eligible Cover Crop Species
- Cereal Grains: Wheat/spelt, rye, barley, triticale, oats, and ryegrass
- Brassicas: Forage radish and canola/rape
- Legumes:Clover, Austrian winter peas and hairy vetch (must be planted with a cereal grain as part of a mix)
Cover Crop Mixes
- New this year, incentives are available for planting mixes.
- Two-species cover crop mixes may be planted at a rate of 50 percent cereal grains and 50 percent brassicas or legumes.
- Three-species mixes (50/25/25) must contain a minimum of 50 percent eligible cereal grains.
Planting and Termination Dates
- Plant cereal grains by November 5, 2021. Some species have earlier deadlines.
- Mixes containing legumes, forage radish, canola/rape, or oats must be planted by October 1, 2021.
- The aerial seeding deadline for cover crops is October 10, 2021. Some species have earlier deadlines.
- Terminate cover crops between March 1 and June 1, 2022.
Fall Management Options
- Eligible cover crops may be grazed or chopped for on-farm livestock forage after becoming well established.
- Manure may be applied in fall following Maryland’s nutrient management regulations.
Certification Requirement
- To receive payment, farmers must certify cover crops with their soil conservation district within one week of planting and no later than November 12, 2021.
Eligibility Requirements
- Participants must be in good standing with MACS and in compliance with Maryland’s nutrient management regulations.
- A current Nutrient Management Plan Certification is required and must be submitted with the application.
- Additional restrictions may apply.
The Cover Crop Program is administered by the Maryland Agricultural Water Quality Cost-Share Program and funded by the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund and the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund. See your soil conservation district representative or contract for details.
