Cover Crop Program to Address Low Germination in Seed Stock

ANNAPOLIS, MD – The Maryland Department of Agriculture will allow farmers to plant small grain seed stock with a germination rate of 65 percent instead of the 80 percent normally required by the Cover Crop Program as long as an adequate cover crop stand is established. Responding to weather conditions this spring that have impacted seed quality, the department is allowing farmers to continue to use farm-grown seed for the Cover Crop Program as long as the crop achieves nutrient benefits for Maryland waterways and the Chesapeake Bay.

“Planting cover crops is the most cost-effective and environmentally efficient way to protect streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay from nutrient runoff,” said Maryland Agriculture Secretary Joe Bartenfelder.  “This program adjustment is designed to forestall a possible decline in cover crop acreage planted as a result of poor seed quality and limited availability of alternative seed sources.”

The Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Cover Crop Program typically allows farmers to use seed they may have saved, however, all seed used is required to meet Maryland Seed Law and Regulatory Standards and have a minimum germination rate of 80 percent.  In addition, certain planting methods must be used to plant the seed to ensure a good stand. This program adjustment relaxes only the germination standard, which has been lowered to 65 percent.  All other seed quality criteria must be met. Farmers will be required to achieve specific stand coverage at the time of fall certification to qualify for the program. Soil conservation districts, which administer the program for the department, will be checking all fields that are planted with substandard seed to assure stand establishment meets density requirements. Farmers should consult with their local University of Maryland Extension (UME) staff for information on recommended seeding rates necessary to achieve the required stand.

Maryland’s Cover Crop Program provides farmers with grants to plant small grains such as wheat, rye, or barley and certain other crops on their fields immediately following the summer crop harvest of corn, soybeans and vegetables. As they grow, cover crops protect water quality by recycling unused plant nutrients remaining in the soil from the preceding summer crop. Once established, they shield fields from erosion caused by wind, rain, snow and ice and improve the soil for the next crop.

Last week, Governor Larry Hogan announced another record-breaking cover crop sign-up by Maryland farmers.  During the program’s three week sign-up period held earlier this summer, 1,853 farmers visited local soil conservation district offices to apply for grants to plant 691,743 acres of protective cover crops on their fields this fall—an increase of 35,000 acres over last year’s sign-up.

Maryland’s Cover Crop Program is administered by the Maryland Department of Agriculture and the state’s 24 soil conservation districts through the Maryland Agricultural Water Quality Cost-Share (MACS) Program. It is funded by the 2010 Chesapeake Bay Trust Fund and the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund. Applicants must be in good standing with MACS to participate and must be in compliance with the Nutrient Management Program.

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