The Residue Cover Application Form collects information on both cover crop and tillage practices for each field. This information is used to determine eligibility and assign the appropriate incentive rate.

Incentives for Cover Crops and Reduced Tillage cannot be combined on the same field, unless bonus criteria are met.

A $20/acre bonus is available when:

• Cover crops provide 80% or greater residue cover over winter, and
• The spring crop is planted using no-till or strip-till methods

Funding priority is given to operations adopting new practices and those new to the Phosphorus Program. If you participated in Year 1 or 2 of the program, funding for practices that are not new to your operation will be limited to 50% of total eligible acres per applicants. Remaining acres will be placed and a waitlist.

• Waitlisted acres may become eligible later in the program year if funding becomes available
• Operations that are adding any new eligible practice (e.g. 4Rs, tree planting, erosion control structures) will be exempt from the waitlist, subject to available program funds
• This approach is intended to encourage the adoption and stacking of additional beneficial management practices (BMPs) on each operation

• $30/acre – No Fall Tillage or Fall Strip Till
• $15/acre – Fall Vertical Tillage

• Field(s) must be in the Upper Thames watershed, with the exception of fields within the Municipality of South Huron who are not eligible.
• Only reduced tillage practices implemented during 2026-2027 non-growing season (winter) are eligible. Practices from past seasons or future years will not be considered. 
• All fields will be inspected by March 31, 2027 to determine if they meet overwinter residue requirements. A minimum of 80% residue is required for reduced tillage projects. 

• No Fall Tillage ›  Crop residue left untouched overwinter (e.g. untouched corn stalks or wheat stubble)
• Fall Strip-Till ›  Crop residue strip-tilled in the fall
• Fall Vertical Till ›  Fall vertical till crop residue
• No-Till or Strip-Till ›  Planting of corn or beans into forage residue

• Fall use of disk rippers or chisel plows 
• Soybean/bean stubble left untouched over winter 
• Any fall tillage on soybean/bean stubble 
• Silage corn stubble without adding a cover crop 
• No-till planting of winter wheat, other cereals or forages 
• Perennial forages left overwinter 
• Unharvested corn or bean fields 

All fields will be inspected by March 31, 2027 to determine if they meet overwinter residue requirements. A minimum of 80% residue is required for reduced tillage projects. 

• $30/acre – Cover Crops Left Overwinter
• $15/acre – Cover Crops that are Harvested/Grazed

• Field(s) must be in the Upper Thames watershed.
• Only cover crops that were planted in 2025 and will be left over winter are eligible.
• Practices from past seasons or future years will not be considered.
• All fields will be inspected by March 31, 2026 to determine if they meet the overwinter residue requirements of 60% residue. On a case-by-case basis, exceptions to the 60% requirement may be granted where cover crops are a new practice or where establishment of a late season cover crops was impacted by weather.

• Cover crops seeded with or into a annual crop
• Cover crops seeded following the harvest of an annual crop
• Single or multi-species cover crops
• Fall burndown allowed if spring residue meets criteria

• Crops harvested as a marketable grain crop the next year
• Alfalfa
• Canola
• Triticale as a single species
• Planting an invasive species

All fields will be inspected by March 31, 2026 to determine if they meet the overwinter residue requirements.

Chris Van Esbroeck, Agricultural Stewardship Specialist