The Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance built an online tool to browse, filter, and compare cover crop payment programs all in one place. It allows you – farmers, landowners, and conservation professionals – to narrow down options and pick the best program for your needs.  Click here to check it out.

Here’s an example of a few different programs you could compare. We’ve also compiled website links, what makes each program unique, how long it takes to sign up, and when you’d get paid.

If you’re not sure where to start, you can narrow down programs by filtering by:

• Funding source
• Payment Rates
• Agronomist support
• Eligibility requirements
• Contract length

Once you’ve narrowed it down, you can even download a pdf copy of only the programs you’re interested in.  Pretty cool, right? Our website developer is a genius.

There are millions of dollars and dozens of programs available to pay farmers to plant cover crops and reduce tillage… So many programs that it can be overwhelming and confusing. That’s why we spent months gathering info to solve this problem.

Here’s how we see it:

Less overwhelm -> More sign-ups -> More cover crop acres -> Improved water quality 

One last thing. We didn’t do this alone. Thank you to all the people who helped us put this tool together. And thank you to all the organizations and farmers who will use this guide to improve soil health and water quality.

Tell all your friends about this resource. Together, we’ll reach 12 million acres of cover crops in Iowa.

If you’d like to include your program on costsharecompare.com, reach out to Rebekah Jones at rjones@iaagwater.org.