Cover Crops

Winter forage could keep SGMA-idled farmland productive, report finds

brad@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 07:01:00 -0400

A new PPIC report finds low-water winter forage crops could help San Joaquin Valley farmers keep some SGMA-affected land productive while reducing dust and generating modest returns.

Ducks Unlimited teams up with Regenified on regen verification

steve@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 06 May 2026 06:02:00 -0400

Ducks Unlimited is partnering with Regenified to verify regenerative agriculture practices on farms and ranches across North America.

Reconciliation raises conservation funding long term but at near-term cost

noah@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 06:08:00 -0400

Conservation programs will get a boost under the reconciliation bill recently signed into law, but the rescission of around $14 billion in near-term IRA funding means signups for the next few fiscal years will be smaller than expected.

CRP approaches enrollment cap as program's authority near lapse

noah@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 28 May 2025 06:05:00 -0400

With authorization of the Conservation Reserve Program set to lapse at the end of the fiscal year, next year’s signups may be at risk.

Fifteen USDA programs under review, Klobuchar says

noah@agri-pulse.com — Thu, 10 Apr 2025 14:57:45 -0400

The Agriculture Department is reviewing 15 of its programs amid ongoing Trump Administration scrutiny over spending, according to a list provided to Agri-Pulse on Thursday by Senate Ag Committee ranking member Amy Klobuchar's office.

'Regenerative' ag lacks familiarity, importance to consumers, survey shows

philip@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 06:03:00 -0500

A new survey shows relatively few consumers are familiar with the term “regenerative” or consider it important to them.

Bayer acquires germplasm for camelina, a jet fuel feedstock

steve@agri-pulse.com — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 12:42:08 -0500

Bayer said Thursday it has acquired camelina germplasm, intellectual property, and materials from Smart Earth Camelina Corp. with the goal of boosting its leadership in biofuel feedstocks.

Conservation Stewardship Program acreage rose in 2023

noah@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 06:04:00 -0400

Some 69 million acres were enrolled in the Conservation Stewardship Program in fiscal 2023, or about 8% of all U.S. farmland, according to a report by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

Drought-resistant wheat clears key regulatory hurdle

rebekah@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 28 Aug 2024 06:03:00 -0400

USDA will deregulate the HB4 drought-tolerant trait from Argentina-based Bioceres Crop Solutions, slightly opening the door to commercialization in the United States.

AFIA annual report highlights animal feed export growth

rebekah@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 28 Aug 2024 06:01:00 -0400

U.S. animal food exports saw a significant increase in 2023 from the previous year both in volume and value, according to the American Feed Industry Association’s annual report on the state of the sector.

Cover crops can be valuable when water is scarce, report says

lydia@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 07:00:22 -0400

More than 30 authors of a CDFA-led study say flexibility is needed from local California groundwater sustainability agencies to allow water availability for cover crops.

Biden's carbon market 'principles' welcomed, with caveats

steve@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 06:18:00 -0400

The Biden administration’s release of principles to ensure integrity in voluntary carbon markets are being welcomed by observers of – and participants in – the growing marketplace, who say it’s sign that the government is following the private sector’s lead.

Potatoes get dietary guidelines assurance, but industry still worried

rebekah@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 29 May 2024 06:23:00 -0400

Despite assurances from key agencies, industry groups remain concerned about the potatoes’ future in the upcoming Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Organic industry reports increased sales, positive consumer trust in labeling

rebekah@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 15 May 2024 06:10:00 -0400

The organic industry continued to grow in 2023 across several products, according the Organic Trade Association, which released the results of its 2024 Organic Industry and Consumer Survey to kick off Organic Week in Washington on Tuesday.

USDA warns seed companies to adhere to labeling requirements

noah@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 06:15:00 -0500

An Agriculture Department letter warning the largest makers of corn, soybean and cotton seeds to double-check their compliance with labeling requirements is being welcomed by some groups as a step toward the agency’s goal for a fairer seed marketplace, while others would rather see the agency tackling other seed competition issues.

Producer sentiment holding steady as farmers monitor interest rates

spencer@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 06:04:00 -0400

The nation’s farmers and ranchers kept their opinions about the farm economy mostly unchanged in July, but mild upticks in optimism are included in a report measuring the state of mind in rural America.

Crop insurance rules challenge airlines' ambitious biofuel plans

janarose@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 06:18:00 -0400

America’s airlines have ambitious plans for using more biofuel, and the feedstocks in their sights include obscure oilseed crops such as camelina. However, crop insurance policy stands in the way.

Bayer Crop Science expanding efforts to shape regenerative agriculture

sara@agri-pulse.com — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 09:43:48 -0400

Bayer Crop Science plans to expand into adjacent markets dealing with crop fertility, biologicals, biofuels, carbon farming, and precision application services – more than doubling the division’s potential in a market that currently stands at more than $109 billion for its current core portfolio

EPA tackling herbicides in broader endangered species effort

steve@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 06:18:00 -0400

In an effort to reduce impacts to endangered species, the Environmental Protection Agency plans to roll out a strategy next month that will take what the agency says is a broad approach to reducing runoff and spray drift from herbicide applications, officials told an advisory group last week.

Lawmakers seek to bring back cover crop payments in next farm bill

janarose@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 31 May 2023 06:13:00 -0400

Under a bipartisan piece of legislation introduced this month, the $5 per acre pandemic cover crop subsidy would be revived and made a permanent part of the farm bill.

Truterra announces $5.1M in carbon payments in 2022

Wed, 17 May 2023 12:14:40 -0400

Truterra paid more than $5.1 million to farmers last year to store carbon, bringing the total for the first two years of its program to over $9 million, the company said Wednesday.

Republicans look to shift IRA conservation funding, but Stabenow holds the cards

noah@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 10 May 2023 06:25:00 -0400

Congressional Republicans who opposed the Inflation Reduction Act, the main funding mechanism for President Joe Biden's climate policy, would like to move the IRA's funding for climate-related farming practices into the farm bill, which could permanently boost funding for conservation programs.

Syngenta Group reports record sales

sara@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 06:05:00 -0400

With all business units experiencing double-digit growth, Syngenta Group sales for 2022 were $33.4 billion, up $5.2 billion or 19% from the previous year, the company reported.

Farmers encouraged to complete national cover crop survey

lydia@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 06:08:00 -0500

Whether they have planted cover crops or not, all farmers are being encouraged to complete an anonymous survey to provide valuable production insight.

General CRP program sign-up opens

lydia@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 06:03:00 -0500

General sign-up for the Conservation Reserve Program will remain open from Feb. 27 through April 7, 2023.

Regulatory action highlights seed industry's upcoming priorities

steve@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 06:20:00 -0500

The seed industry is stressing the need for more public funding to augment resources from the private sector, not just for research but for aging infrastructure at land-grant universities, as Congress prepares to start work on the farm bill next year.

EPA hit with court order on insecticide as it tackles endangered species compliance

steve@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 06:21:00 -0500

The Environmental Protection Agency got a reminder, as if it needed one, of the need for a legally sufficient plan addressing the risks of pesticides to endangered species when a federal appeals court ordered it Tuesday to issue a new assessment on an insecticide used in blueberry and citrus production.

Lawmakers not giving up on cover crop payments

noah@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 06:23:00 -0400

A nationalized version of a crop insurance discount program for farmers who plant cover crops in Illinois, Indiana and Iowa is one of the ideas the table for the next farm bill, as lawmakers and environmental groups look for new ways to incentivize cover crops.

USDA awards $197 million for regional conservation projects

steve@agri-pulse.com — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 12:15:00 -0400

Projects to conserve and restore grasslands are among the biggest beneficiaries of $197 million in grants awarded Friday under the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, which uses local contributions to maximize funding for each project.

Revamped biofuel tax credit system proposed in revamped reconciliation bill

noah@agri-pulse.com — Wed, 03 Aug 2022 06:39:00 -0400

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., brought new hope to the renewable fuel industry last week by resurrecting scrapped measures from last year’s Build Back Better Act into a scaled-back version of the bill.