What is the benefit of cover cropping?

A cover crop is a crop whose main purpose is to feed the soil - not necessarily the grower. They are planted in between growing seasons, or side by side with crops (like we will be doing), to build and fertilize the soil, and to protect the ground from erosion and nutrient loss through runoff. They can also help smother weeds, control pests and diseases, enhance water availability, and increase biodiversity on the farm. The cover crops grown on farms tend to be things like mustard, alfalfa, rye, clovers, buckwheat, cowpeas, radish, vetch, winter peas, etc.

Why at the SAP?

We want to plant cover crops side by side with the existing crops at the SAP to reduce runoff and improve water filtration. Cover cropping will keep the soil (and in turn, the food) healthy and resilient to things like heavy rain and runoff from neighboring farms.