Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig recently announced a deadline coming up for farmers and landowners that planted cover crops this past fall for an additional opportunity for them..

The state’s Cover Crop Insurance Discount Program lets eligible Iowans receive a $5 per acre discount on spring crop insurance premiums. In its sixth year, the program helped increase cover crop acreage across the state, with approximately three million acres of cover crops reported.

Using cover crops is a practice that improves the soil, enhances permeability and helps hold important nutrients in the ground. The Cover Crop Insurance Discount Program is administered jointly by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Risk Management Agency.

To qualify for the program, cover crop acres can’t be enrolled in other state or federal cost-share programs. Some insurance policies, like the Whole-Farm Revenue Protection and those covered through written agreements may be excluded. The deadline to apply for the Cover Crop Insurance Discount Program is January 13th.