Economic, Demographic, and Farmer’s Perspective on Cover Crop Adoption: A Survey Approach​

Cover cropping (CC) can enhance soil health, economic, and environmental sustainability, however adoption rate is 3~5% across the USA. Because the benefits and challenges due to adopting cover crops are site-specific and heterogeneity of farmers perspective, economic and demographic factors vary nationwide.​

Background of the Study​

Recently, there has been a lot of interest in agriculture due to cover crops' agronomic advantages, which include enhanced cash crop output, nitrogen restoration, and erosion prevention. However, to get these advantages is uncertain and probably rather changeable depending on the economic, demographic and farmers’ perspective. Policy makers and conservationists are also interested in the elements that impact a farmer's decision to adopt cover crops or not.​

Justification of the Research​

The United States has long supported cover crops because they are beneficial to adopt sustainable farming system improving soil health, economic returns and environmental benefits. There is still relatively little knowledge on cover crop adoption and most research treat adoption as a binary variable. Whether adoption is a continuum of practice and regression analysis might assist to identify the potential factors of adoption.​