Financial Benefits

Depending on the conservation practice you choose, there are opportunities to lower the cost of current practices, or help to retain the value of your yield. Below we outline the financial benefits seen in one particular conservation practice; cover cropping.

AGree is a multi-stakeholder coalition made up of farmers and farm groups, environmental and conservation NGOs, food companies, and agribusinesses that work together towards enduring policy change. Agree reported 5/10 farms that implemented cover cropping had fertilizer savings ranging from $16 to $70 per acre; 9/10 had savings on machinery operations, including fuel and labor, ranging from $14 to $77 per acre (Myers, 2023).

Why do we see these savings? Conservation practices that maximize soil cover like cover cropping can increase the Soil Organic Material (SOM). The SOM can:

Retain more water meaning less spent on irrigation. Every 1% soil organic matter (SOM) holds 1 acre-inch of water (de Koff et al., 2020).
For every 1% increase in soil organic matter, yields can increase by 12% (Warncke, 2007).
Value of 1% SOM Nutrients/Acre = $474 (Hoorman, 2011)

Inspired to calculate your own possible savings? Try these online tools:

Resources

de Koff, Jason, et al. “Module 7 – Financial Benefits of Cover Crops.” Https://Www.Tnstate.Edu/Faculty/Jdekoff/SoilHealth.Aspx, USDA-NRCS, www.tnstate.edu/faculty/jdekoff/documents/Module%208%20Financial%20Benefits%20of%20Cover%20Crops.pdf. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.
Powerpoint Here

Myers, Rob. “How Conservation Practices Influence Agricultural Economic Returns Implications For the Farm Finance Community .” Foodandagpolicy.Org, Mar. 2023, foodandagpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2023/03/How_Conservation_Practices_Influence_Agricultural_Economic_Returns-1.pdf.

Warncke, D. 2007. Benefits of wheat in a rotation. Michigan State University Extension Crop advisory team alerts. http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/benefits_of_wheat_in_a_rotation