A press release from USDA explains how the 2018 Farm Bill mandated changes to the treatment of cover crops, including adding more flexibility to when cover crops must be terminated while remaining eligible for crop insurance.

With the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill, it became legal to grow industrial hemp. The market opportunities are there and interest in hemp and CBD products continues to increase, so for no-tillers who are interested in growing this specialty crop, this is a good time to dip your toe in and experiment.

Passage of a unique concept that got Congressional consideration during the writing of the 2018 Farm Bill could put more dollars in the pockets of no-tillers. It’s an idea that farmers who use no-till, cover crops and conservation-minded crop rotations to protect the soil should be rewarded with an equivalent of auto insurance’s “good driver discount” when it comes to paying crop insurance premiums.