LINCOLN, Nebraska – Crop producers in the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District (LPSNRD) have an extra month to apply for LPSNRD’s Cover Crop cost-sharing program. Cover crops, planted after harvest, capture nutrients, such as nitrogen, from the soil, then recycle and redistribute them. Cover crops also help to control erosion and make the soil more productive. 

Producers (tenants or owners) can receive up to $2,000 annually under the program and payment amounts vary, depending on the cover crop mix chosen. Applications should be submitted no later than Oct. 31, or before all budgeted funds are allocated. Approval of the application by the District is required before the cover crop is planted. The program requires drill seeding to be completed before Nov. 1.

The Cover Crop Program is available for land located in targeted watersheds, in a community water system protection area (wellhead protection area), a Groundwater Management Phase II or III Area located within the LPSNRD or fields where terrace systems are currently being installed in the NRD’s Summer Conservation Program. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offices in Lancaster, Cass, Otoe, Seward, Butler and Saunders counties can help determine land eligibility and help with completing the application process. 

Anyone with questions can contact their local NRCS office or LPSNRD at 402-476-2729. There is also information at LPSNRD.org/programs. Click on Landowner Cost-Share, then Land Treatment.