Cover crop incentives promote soil health, water quality in Illinois
Illinois farmers who planted cover crops this fall can once again earn a break on next year’s crop insurance premiums through the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s (IDOA) Fall Covers for Spring Savings program.
The agriculture department will offer up to a $5-per-acre discount on 2026 crop insurance premiums for verified cover crop acres seeded in fall 2025 and planted to an insurable crop the following year, depending on the applicant’s policy.
Pre-enrollment opened Dec. 3, at bit.ly/FallCoversApply. The official application period runs from Dec. 15 through Jan. 15. Forms can be saved and edited any time before submission.
Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until funding runs out. The program is expected to cover up to 190,000 acres statewide, including 40,000 acres funded by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to reduce nutrient loss in the Mississippi River Basin.
Farmers must submit their FSA-578 acreage report, crop insurance policy numbers and field identifiers when applying.
The discount program was designed to promote additional acres of cover crops. Therefore, acres already receiving state or federal cost-share payments are not eligible.
The program is open only to farmers insured through the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA). Approved applications will be sent to RMA for processing, and the premium discount will be applied to 2026 crop insurance invoices.
“We appreciate the efforts of IDOA in offering the Fall Covers for Spring Savings program to farmers in Illinois,” Eric Gerth, Illinois Farm Bureau associate director environmental policy and conservation, told FarmWeek.
“This has been a very popular program among our members in previous years,” Gerth said. “Not only does it provide a direct financial incentive to the farmer, but the adoption of conservation practices, such as cover crops, can provide soil health and water quality benefits on the landscape.”
Farmers can get help with the application process through local Soil and Water Conservation District offices, or the department’s Bureau of Land and Water Resources at (217) 782-6297.
This story was distributed through a cooperative project between Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Press Association. For more food and farming news, visit FarmWeekNow.com.