Cover Crops on Illinois Farms

Cover crop use is increasing on U.S. farms, but it remains low. The main reason for low adoption rates is the financial and management challenges of cover crops. Using a unique, field-level dataset from Illinois farms, we find that on average, cover crop fields have a lower operator and land return due to the additional seed, planting, and termination cost. Financial assistance is necessary for cover crop fields to be as profitable as non-cover crop fields. We also consider the carbon sequestration potential of cover crop fields using the Cool Farm Tool and estimate farmer carbon credit payments for cover crops.

美国农场的覆盖作物（Cover Crop）种植规模正持续扩大，但整体普及率仍处于低位。导致其采用率偏低的核心原因在于覆盖作物种植面临的资金与管理双重挑战。本研究依托来自美国伊利诺伊州农场的独有田间级数据集开展实证分析，结果显示：平均而言，种植覆盖作物的地块，其经营者收益与土地回报均低于未种植覆盖作物的地块，这是因为额外产生了种子采购、播种作业以及覆盖作物灭茬处理的成本。若要让覆盖作物种植地块的盈利水平达到非覆盖作物种植地块的同等标准，资金扶持是必不可少的。此外，本研究借助Cool Farm Tool评估了覆盖作物种植地块的碳固存潜力，并估算了农户种植覆盖作物可获得的碳信用收益。