The mixed effects of recent cover crop adoption on US cropland productivity

David B. Lobell (), Stefania Tommaso, Qu Zhou, Yuchi Ma, James Specht and Kaiyu Guan
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David B. Lobell: Stanford University
Stefania Tommaso: Stanford University
Qu Zhou: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Yuchi Ma: Stanford University
James Specht: University of Nebraska Lincoln
Kaiyu Guan: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Nature Sustainability, 2025, vol. 8, issue 9, 1004-1012

Abstract: Abstract Farmers in the USA have rapidly expanded the use of cover crops, with the national cover crop area nearly doubling since 2012. Despite many benefits that motivate public subsidies, questions remain about potential downsides. Here, using satellite observations from over 100,000 fields, half of which recently adopted cover crops, we demonstrate both positive and negative impacts of cover cropping, including: (1) declines in average yields for corn and soybean, by ~3% and ~2%, respectively; (2) delays in planting of corn (4 days) and soybean (2.5 days); and (3) reduced damages in the wet spring of 2019, with cover crop fields only half as likely to experience prevented planting as non-cover-crop fields. Cover cropping appears to reduce important aspects of farmer risk in wet conditions but increase them in dry conditions. Timely planting of the cash crop deserves emphasis moving forward, as we show eliminating planting delays would reduce yield penalties by roughly 50% for corn and 90% for soybean.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41893-025-01599-5

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