Early SHP cover crop data shows no yield drag, increase in organic matter

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.