Cover crop seed costs to increase in the US

Most of the cool-season cover crop seed that will be planted this fall is still growing on seed farms throughout the country. But droughty conditions and less overall acres will likely mean tighter crops and higher prices for rye, triticale and vetch. “Last year was a poor production year, and drought hurt last year, too. We’re looking at low carryover numbers for most of these crops I mentioned,” says Keith Berns, co-owner of Green Cover seed in Nebraska, which contracts 25,000 to 30,000 acres of cover crop seed each year on farms in a dozen states. “Some guys didn’t even plant. We are personally planning on an average to below-average crop at best.” Berns predicts retail prices for cereal rye and other cover crops will increase, on average, 10% to 12% compared to last year. “This really will depend on volume and buying. And retailers will set prices based on margins they have to make,” he says. Rye is his company’s most popular cover crop variety because of its wide planting ...