IDOA “Fall Covers For Spring Savings” cover crop incentive program returns

Applications Accepted Starting December 16 with Opportunity for Pre-Enrollment

[November 21, 2024]    SPRINGFIELD, IL – Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) is implementing its sixth year of the popular Fall Covers for Spring Savings Program.

Users will again be able to enter their information into the application and validate it during a pre-enrollment period starting at 8 a.m. CST on December 4, 2024. Applications can be submitted once the program opens at 8 a.m. on December 16, 2024. Prior to submission, applications can be saved and edited at any time.

Pre-Enrollment Opens 8 a.m. CST, December 4, 2024.

Program Opens (Applications can be submitted) 8 a.m. CST, Monday, December 16, 2024.

Program Closes 11:59 p.m. CST, January 15, 2025

A total of 190,000 acres are available for the 2025 program. In 2024, this acreage allotment was met in less than an hour, and a total of over 241,650 acres were requested by the time the application period ended. Funding of eligible acreage is on a first come, first serve basis.

“The ‘Fall Covers for Spring Savings’ program provides a jump start to initiate what may be a new practice for some producers,” said IDOA Director Jerry Costello II. “Cover crops are critically important for Illinois agriculture, creating a protective barrier that improves soil health, combats drought, reduces disease and decreases soil erosion.”

“Illinois’ participation in the U.S. Gulf Hypoxia Task Force made it possible for the state to enroll an additional 40,000 acres in 2023,” said Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Interim Director James Jennings. “We are thrilled to offer the additional acreage once again in 2024 to continually increase the number of producers implementing cover crops on their farms.”

The program is applicable for acreage in Illinois seeded to cover crops in the fall of 2024 that will be planted to an insurable crop in 2025. Eligible applicants will receive a premium discount up to $5 per acre on the following year's crop insurance, depending on individual crop insurance policies, for every cover crop acre enrolled and verified in the program.

The program is applicable for acreage in Illinois seeded to cover crops in the fall of 2024 that will be planted to an insurable crop in 2025. Eligible applicants will receive a premium discount up to $5 per acre on the following year's crop insurance, depending on individual crop insurance policies, for every cover crop acre enrolled and verified in the program.

The discount program was designed to promote additional acres of cover crops that are not covered by other state or federal incentives. IDOA will use a combination of tools to verify that acres applied for through this program are planted in cover crops. The program is only applicable for those with coverage through the United States Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency (USDA-RMA) crop insurance program. Confirmed applications will be forwarded to the USDA-RMA for processing and for application of premium discounts to 2025 crop insurance invoices.

Pre-enrollment and applications are available at: https://apps.agr.illinois.gov/
BLWR_CoverCrop/ or by following a link on the IDOA website at agr.illinois.gov/. Applications will be available until 11:59 p.m. CST on January 15, 2025. Further information can be obtained by contacting the IDOA at [phone].

[Text Provided by Lori Harlan]