COVER Act of 2023

The COVER Act of 2023 establishes two programs to support farmers adopting cover crops and soil health practices through crop insurance premium subsidies. The main program, the Good Steward Cover Crop program, provides $5 per acre in additional premium subsidies to farmers who plant qualifying cover crops (like grasses, legumes, or brassicas) on land where they also grow other crops and maintain crop insurance, with the subsidy capped at the premium amount for that acre. It requires annual reporting on acreage and includes outreach to underserved producers. A separate soil health pilot program will test additional subsidies for innovative practices like conservation crop rotations, with a mandatory study to evaluate impacts on crop insurance payments and yields.