Minnesota Farm Business Management (FBM) program is partnering with Environmental Defense Fund, General Mills, and University of Minnesota’s Office for Soil Health and Center for Farm Financial Management to provide financial benchmarking of Minnesota farms growing cover crops. The program aims to provide farmers growing cover crops a three-year scholarship into FBM to establish a first-of-its-kind cover crop financial benchmarking dataset that can be expanded over time. Through this program, farmers growing cover crops in Minnesota can receive a $100- $150 per credit scholarship (50%-75% cost share) for participating in FBM.
Ready to Get Rewarded for Your Cover Crop Work?
Apply now for the Cover Crop Scholarship for the 2025–2026 and 2026–2027 school years! Eligible students can earn $100 per credit—up to $500 per semester or $1,000 per year—just by sharing their on-farm data.
To qualify, you must have:
🌱 Planted a fall 2024 cover crop
🌾 Planted a spring 2025 crop
📊 Be ready to submit whole farm and enterprise data, including cover crop details
Preference will be given to students who’ve submitted data in the past, but new applicants are highly encouraged to apply.
📅 Applications will be reviewed the week of August 11 – ALL APPLICATIONS DUE AUGUST 10
📬 Accepted students will be notified in late August with a scholarship acceptance contract
Don’t miss out—click the button below to apply today!
Partners
Participation Criteria
The cover crop benchmarking cost-share program provides the opportunity for farmers growing cover crops to participate in FBM with a $100- $150 per credit scholarship (50%- 75% cost share) for up to 3 years (2022-2024) for a maximum of 10 credits per year and a minimum of 5 credits per year. Producers are eligible to apply if they grow overwinter or winter terminal cover crops on at least one FULL field between growing seasons and if they grow any of the following crops:
- Corn (for grain)
- Corn Silage
- Soybeans
- Wheat
- Sugar Beets
Farmers enrolled in an FBM program reap a number of benefits including:
- Work one-one-one with a financial expert to enhance management and financial capacity on your farm
- Individualized benchmarking reports for your farm
- Improved communication with lenders and other agricultural professionals that support your operation
- $150 per credit scholarship for new FBM student/farmers and $100 per credit for existing FBM student/farmers (50%- 75% cost share)
Data from farms growing cover crops will be submitted to FINBIN and will be used to provide regional benchmark reports and inform Minnesota farmers and agriculture stakeholders about the financial profitability of farms growing cover crops. A minimum number of 10 farms is needed to generate a benchmark report.
How to Apply?
If you fit the participation criteria described above, please contact your farm business management instructor and fill out the online application. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and all farmers and FBM instructors will be notified of application status no later than the 15th of the month following the application submission.
To learn more about the FBM program contact:
For questions about the program goals and funding contact:
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