The Maryland Department of Agriculture has announced the annual sign-up for its Cover Crop Program is open until July 17.

One of the department’s most popular initiatives, it provides farmers cost-share assistance to offset seed, labor and equipment costs to plant fall cover crops, protecting local water quality, building healthy soils and capturing carbon from the atmosphere. Grants are available to farmers who plant a variety of small grains, brassicas and forage radishes on their fields after fall harvest.

Eligible cover crop species may be mixed with radishes and legumes, including clover, Austrian winter peas, and hairy vetch using a variety of two- and three-species mixes. The department has allocated about $20 million for 2024-25.

“This year, we are providing higher incentive payments to farmers who use highly valued cover crop planting practices that deliver increased water quality and soil health benefits,” says Kevin Atticks, ag secretary. “For soil health farmers, our Cover Crop Plus+ option offers enhanced payment options for cover crops planted in the same field for three years.”  

Farmers who sign up for the traditional Cover Crop Program can receive up to $105 an acre in cost-share grants to plant cover crops this fall. This includes a $50-an-acre base rate and up to $55 an acre in incentives. The maximum payment for aerial seeding with incentives is $90 an acre. A late-season planting option pays a flat rate of $40 an acre. Certain restrictions apply. 

The Cover Crop Plus+ option offers enhanced rates to farmers who agree to plant a multispecies cover crop in the same field for three consecutive years using conservation tillage practices that leave at least 30% crop residue. The base rate is $125 an acre. A combination of add-on conservation practices increases the maximum payment to $180 an acre. 

Cover crop grants are administered by the department’s Conservation Grants Program and the state’s 23 soil conservation districts. Applicants must be in good standing with the program and in compliance with Maryland’s nutrient management regulations.

Contact your local soil conservation district by July 17 to apply in person. Those who participated in last year’s program should check their mailboxes for an information packet.

For more details, contact Dawn Bradley at 443-978-3302 or [email protected]. For more information on the Cover Crop Plus+ program, contact Sarel Cousins at 410-980-6697 or [email protected].

Get a grant for cold storage needs

The Maryland Agricultural and Resource-Based Industry Development Corp., or MARBIDCO, has announced the Maryland Producer Cold Storage Grant Program to help farmers and watermen purchase necessary cold storage equipment for their operations. 

MARBIDCO will match up to 50% of the cost of a project purchase with a maximum grant award of $2,000. The minimum grant award is $500, meaning the minimum project or equipment purchase size is $1,000.

Eligible applicants include farmers and watermen with at least $1,000 in agricultural or seafood product sales in calendar years 2023 or 2024. These include sole proprietorships, partnerships, cooperatives and LLCs.

Agricultural products include produce, livestock, shellfish or horticultural products that are grown on the applicant’s farm. Seafood products include finfish and shellfish products harvested in Maryland.

Eligible tangible equipment that can be purchased includes:

Purchases made before June 14 are ineligible for reimbursement.

The application deadline is Aug. 30, and applications will be processed as they are received while funds are available. All applicants should expect to purchase or order equipment by Sept. 30.

Funds will be disbursed as a reimbursement based on proof of payment or directly to vendors based on submitted invoices. Application forms are available at marbidco.org.

For more information, email Brittany Rawlings at [email protected] or call 410-267-6807. Send application forms electronically to [email protected] or mail to: MARBIDCO, Cold Storage Grant Program, c/o Brittany Rawlings, 1410 Forest Drive, Suite 21, Annapolis, MD 21403.

Source: MARBIDCO