Non-profit Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) has opened applications to its 2026 cover crop cost-share program, which provides $15 per acre for Midwest corn and soybean farmers who are planning to plant a fall cover crop ahead of next year’s crop.
Each year, PFI supports growers with cover cropping practices, including over 2,400 farmers on more than 900,000 acres with $10 million in support in 2025.
Regardless of previous cover crop experience, corn and soybean farmers in Iowa and parts of Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin are encouraged to submit applications online here.
Through the application, farmers share their acreages and sign a release allowing PFI to verify acres with the Farm Service Agency, Sean Dengler, crop nutrition coordinator at PFI, told AgNavigator. Then, they will receive a wrap-up survey to submit seed and application expenses, he explained.
The PFI cost-share program can be combined with other publicly funded programs, including IDALS WQI, NRCS EQIP, or CSP. Additionally, farmers will receive agronomic advice on cover crops and a one-year PFI membership with their application.
“We know cover crops can reduce erosion, suppress weeds and improve soil health, but the upfront cost can keep farmers from trying them or expanding acres. This program helps offset the cost while giving farmers the support they need to make cover crops work on their farm,” Dengler said in a press release.
What farmers must know about cover cropping basics
Cover cropping comes in various forms, but the goal is to protect soils and prevent soil runoff and nitrates leaching into the water, Dengler explained. Additionally, ranchers can use cover crops to feed their livestock, he added.
“Farmers who’ve been doing cover crops for a long time, they’re seeing the yields in the spots of the field that are a little rough start to get a little better. It helps balance out the field more, and you can reduce your fertilizer inputs in years, potentially, once you get that biology active,” Dengler elaborated.
Farmers can either “chase the combine” to plant a cover crop right after harvest or finish the harvest or plant seeds via plane or drone, with the latter becoming increasingly popular, Dengler explained. However, some federal and state programs require cover crops to go in before the harvest — a practice called interseeding — he added.
Depending on the cover crop, the plant will either terminate when winter hits, like oats, or they may require termination in spring, such as cereal rye, Dengler said. Also, farmers must take precautions with specific cover and cash crops. For instance, cereal rye biomass can compete with corn if not terminated properly, he added.
“We have plenty of farmers that will plant [soybeans] straight into the rye, and they swear by it. It works well, and the rye will be nice and tall and help with the weed coverage as well. So, you can be a little more generous with soybeans, and rye [in front of] corn is a little trickier. Some farmers like to do oats in front of corn, so then it’s not there in the spring, or they’ll do wheat, which doesn’t compete as much as say what rye does,” he elaborated.
PepsiCo, PFI, & agrifood stakeholders to speak at Climate Smart Food
Looking to learn more about PFI? Then, make sure to attend the upcoming Climate Smart Food broadcast series, produced by AgNavigator and FoodNavigator.
Chelsea Ferrie, crop nutrition systems manager at PFI, will share insights into the non-profit’s nitrogen reduction trials, alongside an Iowan farmer and PepsiCo’s Caitlin Colegrove, sustainable agriculture lead for North America.
Learn more about the broadcast series and register today here.