Research Shows Ethanol Expansion Has Reduced Cover Cropping Incentives

A newly published study in Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, co-authored by a researcher at NDSU’s Center for Agricultural Policy and Trade Studies, finds that the surge in U.S. corn ethanol production following the Renewable Fuel Standard has unintentionally slowed the adoption of winter cover crops, an important conservation practice for soil health and carbon sequestration.

Drawing on satellite imagery and detailed maps of ethanol plant capacity from 2006-2015, the authors estimate that building a single 100-million-gallon ethanol refinery reduces local cover cropped acreage by 0.35 percentage points, about 857 acres in a typical county cluster.