In addition to the national usage of cover crops rising significantly in the last decade they can also be profitable for farmers in their first year of use, a new report by USDA-SARE found.

The key, says North Dakota farmer Justin Zahradka, who has been planting cover crops since 2011, is to “look at cover crops as an investment rather than a cost.”

The report addresses the various returns farmers can expect from cover crops, factoring in a variety of management scenarios and the improvement to soil health as seen over time. The release of this report is timely, as data from the latest Census of Agriculture shows an increase of national cover crop usage by 50% from 2012 to 2017.

Read more about the report and how cover crops could be beneficial to your operation here.