Cover crops increase across the Corn Belt, but many more acres needed to reach nutrient reduction goals
Zoom in and click on counties to see the change in estimated cover crop acres from the 2015 to 2017 seasons. A cover crop season is defined as the periods during which a cover crop can emerge after the harvest, in the late fall followed by early spring. Acres of cover crops were detected using satellite imagery for the fall of 2015 to spring of 2016, for 2015, and fall of 2017 to spring of 2018, for 2017. Areas of corn and soybean were derived from the USDA’s Cropland Data Layer. To see the full methodology and report, click here.
