2025-2026 Kentucky Cereal Rye Cover Crop Initiative Application

Once approved, participating farmers will receive $550 per acre from the Rye Initiative for a maximum of $13,750 (25 acre max). This $13,750 is essentially purchasing the rye grain from the farm and assuming that yields are near 70 bushels per acre and price is about $7.00 per bushel. The $13,750 will be paid to each participant after the following conditions are met and information is provided to AFT.   AFT will provide technical assistance to farmers, visit field sites (once annually and on request), and provide current management guidelines.

Please note: Funding for this project is made possible by the USDA'S Conservation Innovations Grant (CIG). Should funding be cancelled for the CIG by the federal government, funding will likely not be available to farmers enrolled in the program.

Project contact: Brian Brandt
agconservation@farmland.org