Explore the opportunity to mitigate soil erosion, reduce water and nutrient runoff, and generate additional revenue by harvesting before planting your standard rotational crops!
What is it?
CoverCress, Inc. has transformed field pennycress, a common winter annual weed, into an innovativerotational cash crop that integrates seamlessly into the Midwest's traditional corn and soybean farming cycles. Over 9 years of breeding, selection, gene editing, and field trials, this crop went from 5 seed coats to just 1- giving it a golden color, grain composition similar to Canola, and reducing the dormancy and increasing its germination.
Why choose this for my cover crop?
CoverCress offers farmers the unique opportunity of attaining benefits of traditional cover crops, capturing carbon and preserving organic soil carbon through cover cropping, but instead of termination, farmers can harvest the crop in the Spring and receive a guaranteed compensation regardless of yield outcomes, all prior to planting their traditional corn/soybean rotation!
A lot of risk for a new crop?
Through the Farm Adoption Program, growers can plant in a risk-free, guided setting to adapt it to their farming routines, with no need for extra equipment or upfront investment, and avoids additional field passes, ensuring ease of use. With new characteristics through gene editing, this transformed annual weed doesn't provide trouble with hard seed, prohibiting volunteers. CoverCress is domesticated to provide the best standability with no rebuttal.
The Farm Adoption Program
This two-year, completely risk-free program offers free seed valued at up to $2,500 or $25 per acre to minimize initial costs and help farmers gain confidence. Participants can enjoy the advantages of cover crops while developing expertise to incorporate CoverCress into their crop rotations, and potentially remaining eligible for various carbon programs.
The Grain Production Program
Farmers must seed at a rate of 5 lbs/acre by the geographic cutoff date and achieve 4-7 plants per sq. ft. stand. Apply at least 50 lbs of nitrogen and 20 lbs of sulfur (if soil sulfur is below 20 ppm) after stand verification in Feb-March. Harvested grain will be transported using a free contracted trucking service. A base payment is guaranteed for 1,200 lbs/acre yield.
Economic Benefits of CoverCress
CoverCress not only provides the benefits of cash crops to growers, but environmental incentive as well. Farmers can play a vital role in reducing the carbon intensity of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel through CoverCress technology. With a 30% oil composition and 40% crude protein meal, this cover crop has a very low carbon intensity score.