Reacting to a strong wave of interest by hundreds of Iowa farmers, Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey last week increased the amount of funding the state would provide as an incentive for farmers to try cover crops and other conservation practices.

Northey added $1 million to the $1.8 million that was already allocated on Aug. 8 to the conservation cost-share program. It offers $25 per acre to farmers who plant cover crops, $10 per acre to those who adopt no-till or strip-till programs and $3 per acre to those who use nitrification inhibitors on fall-applied anhydrous ammonia.

These practices...