[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/uersap/342471.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Cover Crops on Livestock Operations: Potential for Expansion in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Bowman, Maria
  • Afi, Maroua
  • Beenken, Aubree
  • Boline, Amy
  • Drewnoski, Mary
  • Krupek, Fernanda Souza
  • Parsons, Jay
  • Redfearn, Daren
  • Wallander, Steven
  • Whitt, Christine
Abstract
Cover crops can provide environmental benefits, and their use is increasing across the United States. Cover crops can also be costly to implement. The literature suggests that for livestock operations, grazing or harvesting cover crops for forage can be profitable due to the forage benefit. However, a new analysis of Federal data shows that around 14 percent of cattle operations with cropland grew cover crops in 2017. Certain types of cattle operations are more likely to report cover crop use. Dairy and feedlot operations are more than twice as likely to use cover crops as cattle operations overall (33 percent of dairy and 27 percent of feedlot operations), and many operations with cover crops report grazing them or harvesting them for forage. In 2021, 72 percent of dairy operations and 89 percent of cow-calf operations with cover crops reported harvesting or grazing at least some cover crop acreage, which suggests the forage value of cover crops may be a driver of adoption on those operations. Finally, this report discusses the potential for integrating cover crops and livestock systems in the United States (as well as barriers) and presents several research opportunities that could address knowledge gaps.

Suggested Citation

  • Bowman, Maria & Afi, Maroua & Beenken, Aubree & Boline, Amy & Drewnoski, Mary & Krupek, Fernanda Souza & Parsons, Jay & Redfearn, Daren & Wallander, Steven & Whitt, Christine, 2024. "Cover Crops on Livestock Operations: Potential for Expansion in the United States," Administrative Publications 342471, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:uersap:342471
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.342471
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/342471/files/ap-120.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.342471?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jansen, Jim & Stokes, Jeff & Parsons, Jay, 2019. "Cover Crop Utilization across Nebraska and Implications for Cropland Lease Arrangements in 2019," Cornhusker Economics 307099, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Department of Agricultural Economics.
    2. Andrea D Basche & Marcia S DeLonge, 2019. "Comparing infiltration rates in soils managed with conventional and alternative farming methods: A meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(9), pages 1-22, September.
    3. Basche, Andrea D. & Kaspar, Thomas C. & Archontoulis, Sotirios V. & Jaynes, Dan B. & Sauer, Thomas J. & Parkin, Timothy B. & Miguez, Fernando E., 2016. "Soil water improvements with the long-term use of a winter rye cover crop," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 40-50.
    4. Thompson, Nathanael M. & Reeling, Carson J. & Fleckenstein, Michelle R. & Prokopy, Linda S. & Armstrong, Shalamar D., 2021. "Examining intensity of conservation practice adoption: Evidence from cover crop use on U.S. Midwest farms," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    5. Plastina, Alejandro & Liu, Fangge & Sawadgo, Wendiam & Miguez, Fernando & Carlson, Sarah, 2018. "Partial Budgets for Cover Crops in Midwest Row Crop Farming," Journal of the ASFMRA, American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, vol. 2018.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wang, Jun & Zhang, Shaohong & Sainju, Upendra M. & Ghimire, Rajan & Zhao, Fazhu, 2021. "A meta-analysis on cover crop impact on soil water storage, succeeding crop yield, and water-use efficiency," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    2. Sandhya Karki & M. Arlene A. Adviento-Borbe & Joseph H. Massey & Michele L. Reba, 2021. "Assessing Seasonal Methane and Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Furrow-Irrigated Rice with Cover Crops," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-15, March.
    3. Meredith Hovis & Joseph Chris Hollinger & Frederick Cubbage & Theodore Shear & Barbara Doll & J. Jack Kurki-Fox & Daniel Line & Andrew Fox & Madalyn Baldwin & Travis Klondike & Michelle Lovejoy & Brya, 2021. "Natural Infrastructure Practices as Potential Flood Storage and Reduction for Farms and Rural Communities in the North Carolina Coastal Plain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-25, August.
    4. Schilling, Keith E. & Streeter, Matthew T. & Gibertini-Diaz, Valerie & Betret, Eustice & Arenas-Amado, Antonio, 2024. "Hydrogeology and subsurface water flow beneath grass waterways: Implications for exploiting waterways for nitrate reductions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).
    5. Rath, S. & Zamora-Re, M. & Graham, W. & Dukes, M. & Kaplan, D., 2021. "Quantifying nitrate leaching to groundwater from a corn-peanut rotation under a variety of irrigation and nutrient management practices in the Suwannee River Basin, Florida," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    6. Du, Zhushan & Feng, Hongli & Arbuckle, J. Gordon, 2024. "Beyond cross-sectional, one-time adoption measures of conservation practices: Understanding temporal adoption patterns using farm-level panel data," 2024 Annual Meeting, July 28-30, New Orleans, LA 344010, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    7. Nikolaos V. Paranychianakis & Giorgos Giannakis & Daniel Moraetis & Vasileios A. Tzanakakis & Nikolaos P. Nikolaidis, 2021. "Crop Litter Has a Strong Effect on Soil Organic Matter Sequestration in Semi-Arid Environments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-14, November.
    8. Han, Guang & Niles, Meredith T., 2023. "An adoption spectrum for sustainable agriculture practices: A new framework applied to cover crop adoption," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    9. repec:caa:jnlswr:v:preprint:id:27-2024-swr is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Byungyul Park & Roderick M. Rejesus & Serkan Aglasan & Yuyuan Che & Stephen C. Hagen & William Salas, 2023. "Payments from agricultural conservation programs and cover crop adoption," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(2), pages 984-1007, June.
    11. Rogovska, Natalia & O’Brien, Peter L. & Malone, Rob & Emmett, Bryan & Kovar, John L. & Jaynes, Dan & Kaspar, Thomas & Moorman, Thomas B. & Kyveryga, Peter, 2023. "Long-term conservation practices reduce nitrate leaching while maintaining yields in tile-drained Midwestern soils," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    12. Gary D. Schnitkey & Sarah C. Sellars & Laura F. Gentry, 2024. "Cover crops, farm economics, and policy," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 46(2), pages 595-608, June.
    13. Dhakal, Rajan & Connor, Lawson, 2022. "Cover Crops and Interactions with Corn and Soybean Yields: Evidence from Satellite data in Indiana," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322587, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    14. Li, Yizhuo & Tian, Di & Feng, Gary & Yang, Wei & Feng, Liping, 2021. "Climate change and cover crop effects on water use efficiency of a corn-soybean rotation system," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    15. Manuel López-Vicente & Elena Calvo-Seas & Sara Álvarez & Artemi Cerdà, 2020. "Effectiveness of Cover Crops to Reduce Loss of Soil Organic Matter in a Rainfed Vineyard," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-16, July.
    16. Palm-Forster, Leah H. & Taylor, Mykel & Banerjee, Simanti & Xie, Lusi, 2023. "Factors influencing enrollment of leased cropland in the Conservation Stewardship Program in Kansas," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    17. Amit P. Timilsina & Garrett Steinbeck & Ajay Shah & Sami Khanal, 2024. "Assessing the Multifaceted Tradeoffs of Agricultural Conservation Practices on Ecosystem Services in the Midwest U.S," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-20, June.
    18. repec:ags:aaea22:335971 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Olivia Peters & Samuel I. Haruna, 2024. "Does no-till cover crop influence in situ measured soil water potential and saturated hydraulic conductivity?," Soil and Water Research, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 19(3), pages 154-167.
    20. Flowers, Henry & Lopez, Jose A. & Drake, David & Jones, Curtis, 2023. "An Agronomic and Economic Analysis of Annual Ryegrass Management Practices in North-Texas Soybean Production," 2023 Annual Meeting, February 4-8, 2023, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 338474, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    21. Mohamed Allam & Emanuele Radicetti & Mortadha Ben Hassine & Aftab Jamal & Zainul Abideen & Roberto Mancinelli, 2023. "A Meta-Analysis Approach to Estimate the Effect of Cover Crops on the Grain Yield of Succeeding Cereal Crops within European Cropping Systems," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-18, August.
    22. Schomberg, Harry H. & White, Kathryn E. & Thompson, Alondra I. & Bagley, Gwendolyn A. & Burke, Allen & Garst, Grace & Bybee-Finley, K. Ann & Mirsky, Steven B., 2023. "Interseeded cover crop mixtures influence soil water storage during the corn phase of corn-soybean-wheat no-till cropping systems," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agricultural and Food Policy; Crop Production/Industries; Land Economics/Use; Livestock Production/Industries; Production Economics; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:uersap:342471. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ersgvus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.