The Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA), The Nature Conservancy, and USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) offer first-time cover-crop users a $5-per-acre discount on the following year's crop-insurance premium for up to 750 acres that are enrolled and verified. The discount is tied to the acre, not the person (two landowners split the $5), and applies only to cover-crop acres not already enrolled in another state or federal cover-crop incentive. The discount is applied through the normal crop-insurance premium process via USDA-RMA.
Eligibility
Indiana producers planting cover crops on eligible acres located fully within a covered watershed (see the annual county coverage map), targeted to first-time cover-crop users. Up to 750 acres per crop-insurance ID/number. Fields enrolled in another cost-share program are not eligible; full-width fall tillage/termination of the cover crop is not allowed (spring management per USDA-NRCS termination guidelines).
Details
Organization
Financial Instrument
Cost Share
Maximum Award Amount
$3,750
Application Instructions
Apply via ISDA's online form accompanied by the FSA-578 (Report of Commodities). Pre-enrollment for the 2026 crop opened December 15, 2025. The program has reached funding capacity for 2026 and is not currently accepting applications; enrollment is expected to reopen for the next crop year.
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Updated September 4, 2026
Image Credit: James Baltz
This information was gathered from public sources. Ambrook is not responsible for or able to affect the results of any financial programs listed, nor are they responsible for any incorrect information that is listed or is on the hyperlinked external sites. All information is subject to change.
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