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S2:E8 – A Million Acres and 35 Million Pounds of Seed: The Story of Green Cover and the Economics of Cover Crops, with Keith Berns
Early regenerative pioneer Keith Berns, co-founder of Green Cover, recounts how multi-species cover crops transformed from niche experiment to a million-acre business.
Green Cover is a cover-crop innovator and one of the country’s leading cover crop seed suppliers. In this conversation, we talk with Keith about:
He discusses the limits of single-variable academic research in inherently complex, multi-species systems, the specific cases where single-species cover crops still make sense, and strategies in areas of limited moisture where cultivation may be more challenging.
Keith breaks down the direct economic benefits of cover crops (including livestock integration, fertility gains, weed suppression, and improved water infiltration) that compound into long-term resilience as soil organic matter builds. He also explains how federal crop-insurance rules, particularly “Annual Production History,” continue to restrict both producer adoption and seed production.
Keith talks about the indicators he’s watching to gauge future adoption, why incentive programs alone aren’t enough to drive meaningful growth, and how he’s managing the challenges of scaling in a maturing market.
He highlights the largest data gap he sees in the industry—where empirical evidence still lags behind what farmers observe in the field—and shares what growers are managing day-to-day: economic pressures, agronomic trade-offs, and practical constraints like planting windows.
We hope you enjoy this grounded, data-aware conversation about the pivotal yet still-evolving role cover crops play in regenerative agriculture and soil health.
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By Soil UpsideEarly regenerative pioneer Keith Berns, co-founder of Green Cover, recounts how multi-species cover crops transformed from niche experiment to a million-acre business.
Green Cover is a cover-crop innovator and one of the country’s leading cover crop seed suppliers. In this conversation, we talk with Keith about:
He discusses the limits of single-variable academic research in inherently complex, multi-species systems, the specific cases where single-species cover crops still make sense, and strategies in areas of limited moisture where cultivation may be more challenging.
Keith breaks down the direct economic benefits of cover crops (including livestock integration, fertility gains, weed suppression, and improved water infiltration) that compound into long-term resilience as soil organic matter builds. He also explains how federal crop-insurance rules, particularly “Annual Production History,” continue to restrict both producer adoption and seed production.
Keith talks about the indicators he’s watching to gauge future adoption, why incentive programs alone aren’t enough to drive meaningful growth, and how he’s managing the challenges of scaling in a maturing market.
He highlights the largest data gap he sees in the industry—where empirical evidence still lags behind what farmers observe in the field—and shares what growers are managing day-to-day: economic pressures, agronomic trade-offs, and practical constraints like planting windows.
We hope you enjoy this grounded, data-aware conversation about the pivotal yet still-evolving role cover crops play in regenerative agriculture and soil health.