Integrating Cover Crop Mixtures into NRCS Conservation Planning for Enhancing Soil Health.

Historically, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has provided technical and financial assistance to landowners for planting cover crops with the primary goal of preventing erosion on highly erodible land.  More recently, there has been an increased interest within the agency for using cover crops to improve soil health.  Multi-species mixtures in particular have been promoted by the agency and the Soil Health Division to treat a range of resource concerns and provide additional ecosystem services.  In this presentation, we will:  1) provide an update on using cover crop mixtures as part of the conservation planning process; 2) show recent examples of successful mixtures that target resource concerns and ecosystem services; 3) outline the role of regional decision support tools to aid with planning appropriate mixtures and capturing potential ecosystem services; and 4) provide a vision for ensuring consistent cover crop recommendations between agencies and states.