Cover Crop Fact Sheets

Iowa NRCS and ISU Extension has worked on a collaborative project to develop Cover Crop Fact Sheets. There are currently fact sheets for 25 different species, with more in development! These are a great resource for anyone starting their cover crop journey, or someone looking to change things up.

Each fact sheet includes sections on: Identifying Features, Cultural Traits, Planting Information, Performance Ratings, and pictures that highlight various features and growth patterns.

The Cover Crop Fact Sheets are available for pickup in office and can be found on the USDA – NRCS website.

Thousands of Iowa farmers plant cover crops annually to help reduce soil erosion, increase soil organic matter, suppress weeds, minimize soil compaction, scavenge excess nutrients, or provide supplemental livestock grazing. A large percentage of Iowa farmers use cereal rye, oats, wheat, radishes and turnips. However, there are many other cover crop options available.

The Polk SWCD Cover Crop Demonstration Project features different mixes of 8 Iowan Cover Crops. Producers are encouraged to take a self-guided tour through the plot to learn about the benefits of each crop and how they can be planted together to best benefit your farm system.

Iowa Cover Crops:

• Annual Ryegrass
• Balansa Clover
• Barley
• Berseem Clover
• Buckwheat
• Cereal Rye
• Common Vetch
• Cowpea
• Crimson Clover
• Flax
• Foxtail Millet
• Forage Sorghum
• Hairy Vetch
• Japanese Millet
• Kale
• Mung Bean
• Mustard
• Oats
• Pearl Millet
• Proso Millet
• Radish
• Rapeseed
• Red Clover
• Sorghum-Sundangrass
• Sudangrass
• Sun Flower
• Sun Hemp
• Teff
• Tritacle
• Turnip
• Wheat
• White Clover
• Winter Camelina
• Winter Pea