Tyler Harris
TARGETED ADOPTION: For cover crops, the adoption curve is usually different than for conservation tillage. Many farmers in the study started with a few acres of cover crops before gradually expanding to other areas of their farm.
Groups partner with farmers to study costs, revenue and adoption of conservation tillage and cover crops.
Since 2015, the Soil Health Partnership, a part of the National Corn Growers Association, has worked with farmers to evaluate the benefits of a number of soil health management practices through on-farm research throughout the Midwest. In 2020, SHP partnered with the Environmental Defense Fund and the accounting firm K-Coe Isom, as well as seven participating farmers in five Midwestern states, to evaluate the impact of different conservation practices on a farm’s bottom line.