Cover Crops Acres Increasing in Minnesota

A cover crop seeder moves across a standing cornfield in the late August heat. What began as an experiment has turned into a side business for a Minnesota farmer.

Andy Linder, Minnesota Farmer: “I got into it by attending a meeting and a field day and listening to people that were doing it, going out in the field with the farmer afterwards and, you know, show him, showing me what was happening in his field because of what he was doing. And I decided I wanted my farms to look like that, too.”

The soil condition or tilth of the fields Linder seeded with cover crops began to quickly evolve.

Andy Linder, Minnesota Farmer: “First I saw the soil start to change. It became a little more aggregated, crumbly, you know, chocolate cake, cottage cheese kind of thing is what people use for terms. The weed pressure was less because of having that cover and not doing the tillage on the farm. Some of the more rolling slopes that we farm, the erosion was far less. So there's a lot of visuals that made me want to continue with it.”

Linder and his father began planting cover crops across all of their acres over three growing seasons. A change in the economics of his farm followed. Yields were steady, but margins improved after a shift in the cost of inputs. While the growing season required fewer passes across fields, different equipment was needed to maximize the efficiency. 

Andy Linder, Minnesota Farmer: “Yes. And if not profitability, less work because there's still a cost to putting the seed out there and doing the application. And especially today, with higher interest rates and inflated machinery, that equipment is expensive to own. 

The cost of machinery didn’t slow Linder’s adoption of cover crops. Originally dispersed by airplane, Linder is now on his second wheeled rig, this one built to serve as both a sprayer and seeder. The machine can seed cover crops into standing crops at an average of 50 acres per hour.  

But concerns over the cost of new equipment are only one of the hurdles the cover crop curious must clear before seeding their own fields.

The plan for this field is for the winter rye, turnips and kale to germinate before the corn harvest, and then grow until the snow comes in November. The growth should resume at snow melt and continue until the field is ready to plant in April or May, when the cover crop will be terminated. 

Linder’s purchase of equipment provides flexibility in his seeding schedule. 

Andy Linder, Minnesota Farmer: “And then the acres just kind of fell into place in the fall. And then, you know, through some trade shows and marketing and winter meetings promoting the machine, and it just kind of went from there.”

Once Linder and his father understood the improvements of the soil quality, the expansion of covered acres came quickly.

Andy Linder, Minnesota Farmer: “And then I try to associate some costs with each of our practices. And so even in corn mostly, you know, if I'm a little bit less on yield, I'm usually similar in profitability. My lenders also provided me with the same answer. They have a scorecard that they come out, you know, once a year and they say, okay, here's your farm and here's how you compare versus your peers. And, you know, yield was one thing that stuck out that, yes, you yield have less, but you are making the same or more money than your peers.”

Experienced cover crop farmers emphasize the long term  when discussing benefits of covers, and also to manage expectations.

Andy Linder, Minnesota Farmer: “Some try it with looking for a yield return because typically that's how you know us as producers are sold products is use my product just get this many bushels and that's that's not what you're accomplishing with using cover crops and less tillage It's not a it's not a yield return. It's a profitability thing and then it's a soil, you know, keeping your soil on your farm.”

The financial risks to farmers can be minimized through cost share programs.  A split of the expenses of cover crop inputs can encourage producers to introduce covers to their operations. 

Southern Minnesota has seen growth in cover crops as a result of cost sharing.

Nathan Carr, Faribault County SWCD: “99% of the counties is corn, soybean rotation. So how do we get those guys interested in some cover crops? And then that growth started in about 2016, 2017 and has moved to where it is now, where we have over 5000 acres a year that we're funding.”

In his work for the Faribault County Soil and Water District, Nathan Carr helps landowners reduce erosion and improve the county’s water quality.

Nathan Carr, Faribault County SWCD: “Our goal is to have them kind of learn themselves how it works. So what we do at the soil and water is if someone comes in and they're interested in trying and cover crops, it's okay. If you want to do 80 acres we can cost or that will pay for 75% of it.  So then if we pay for 75%, that reduces their risk significantly to where they're able to try it. And then they can see if they get any return on investment or they could try it for three years and do it that way.” 

The investment calculation is more than changing input costs. 

Changing tillage practices can be a slow process, especially when producers have legacy equipment designed to move the soil. 

Nathan Carr, Faribault County SWCD: “So normally in our area, we're doing, you know, making the soil black in the fall and then working it again in the spring and planting into that. So when we're doing cover crops, we're changing that whole tillage practice as well. So our incentive payments have been $55, you know, a year. We lock them in to do three years because you're going to have to change your tillage practice too. It's a lot of change there. So that $55 an acre is supposed to offset your risk.”

One producer in a neighborhood can influence others to try cover crops on their acres. 

Nathan Carr, Faribault County SWCD: “It's if you drive around, it's almost like there's pockets of conservation. So it's almost like when you drive around, if one guy starts it, you start seeing a little bit more pop up around it. Andy Linder started doing some cover crops and this was back when I started about eight nine years ago. He started doing some cover crops and then all of a sudden you started seeing some of his neighbors do it.” 

Interest from neighbors led Linder to begin custom planting cover crops in the region. His company can also drill seeds into fields following harvest.

With improved profitability through lower input costs, and fewer passes across fields meaning lower equipment costs in the long term, cover crops are appearing on more acres of Southern Minnesota.

For Market to Market, I’m Peter Tubbs.