Cover crops offer a wide range of potential benefits for producers – better nutrient cycling, more weed suppression, more livestock forage, better soil structure, increased soil organic matter and healthier soil microbial communities. To reap those benefits, producers need to make some careful decisions.

USDA-ARS researchers also worked with economists at South Dakota State University to evaluate the economics of the different rotations, including crop prices and production costs. They determined that some four-year rotations have a higher benefit-cost ratio.