Insights from data collected by the Soil Health Partnership (SHP) shows that cover crops do not result in a yield drag.

“I think farmers are concerned that when they adopt a cover crop that they’re going to see a yield drag,” said Dr. Maria Bowman, lead scientist for the Soil Health Partnership, “and the fact that our data show that there is no statistically significant yield drag, I think, is really important.”

Other early data indicate that farmers participating in SHP are measurably improving their soil organic matter during their first few years in the program.