Keep It Covered

Keep It Covered is a Minnesota-focused soil health outreach initiative that promotes cover crops and conservation tillage as practical ways to protect farmland and support farming communities. Through messaging designs, educational materials, and curated resources, the initiative encourages farmers and the public to see covered fields not as messy or poorly managed, but as evidence of thoughtful stewardship.

Its guidance explains how cover crops can reduce wind erosion and weed pressure, help retain soil and nutrients, lessen fertilizer needs, and provide opportunities to diversify income with crops such as sunflowers, wheat, and forage crops. It also highlights how reduced tillage can mean fewer field passes, preserve soil structure, and help keep nutrients out of waterways.

The initiative shares information on soil health, including physical, chemical, and biological properties, and outlines practices such as minimizing disturbance, maintaining living roots, increasing biodiversity, and keeping soil covered. It also connects visitors with resources from organizations including USDA NRCS, the University of Minnesota, and the Midwest Cover Crops Council.