The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) has relaunched the Infield Conservation for Operationalizing Vital Ecosystem Resilience (I-COVER) program, which offers financial incentives to farmers adopting new or earlier cover crop techniques for 2026–2028.
I-COVER is a three-year initiative funded by a $7 million grant from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service to promote the use of cover crops and improve soil health.
Applications for the program opened April 15. IDOA will select applications on a first-come, first-served basis per county, with the first application per county being prioritized, pending qualification and verification.
Illinois farmers are at the forefront of innovation, and the I-COVER program helps ensure they have the tools and resources needed to implement practices that benefit both their operations and the environment.
Pre-enrollment and applications are available online. Visit the IDOA website at agr.illinois.gov/ and select the I-COVER program link on the home page. Interested participants can also contact IDOA by email at agr.icover@Illinois.gov or by phone at (217) 782-6297.
Comments are closed