Pandemic Cover Crop Program

The USDA Risk Management Agency operates the Pandemic Cover Crop Program (CFDA 10.461), a premium-support benefit for agricultural producers who planted qualifying cover crops during the 2021 or 2022 crop years and maintained crop insurance coverage; the program has closed to new applications as funding was limited to those two crop years only.

This program provides a direct premium benefit of $5 per acre, capped at the full premium owed, to offset crop insurance costs when producers also plant cover crops on the same land. Eligible cover crops include all species reportable to the Farm Service Agency—cereals and other grasses, legumes, brassicas and other non-legume broadleaves, and mixtures of two or more cover crop species planted concurrently. Producers automatically received the benefit by filing the Report of Acreage form (FSA-578) with their local USDA Service Center by the program deadline for each eligible crop year. The Farm Service Agency and Risk Management Agency conducted data mining and spot-check reviews to verify reported cover crop acreage.

Eligibility was restricted to farmers who both purchased crop insurance for a cash crop and planted a qualifying cover crop on the same land during either 2021 or 2022. The program is no longer accepting applications; funding was statute-limited to those two crop years, and no new opportunities are being posted. This was a pandemic-era assistance program with fixed temporal scope rather than an ongoing funding line. No recent grant awards, open solicitations, or forward funding availability are present.

Organizations pursuing federal agricultural support should note that this program concluded its benefit period. The relevant mechanism for current cover crop support may differ materially and should be researched separately through USDA's active programs.