Cover crops can be an important part of a cropping system. The harvest of row crops, such as corn silage or soybeans, usually leaves the soil surface bare until the next crop season. The soil can remain bare for up to seven months, making it vulnerable to erosion from rainfall, snowmelt, or wind. To help combat and reduce soil erosion, cover crops are typically established and grown during the fall months and remain until the next spring crop season.

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Cover crops are grasses, legumes, and forbs planted for seasonal vegetative cover that can help reduce soil erosion, maintain or increase soil organic matter, suppress weeds, provide additional forage for livestock, and minimize compaction.​