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According to Cover Crop Strategies 2025 Benchmark Study, only 54.9% of responding farmers seeded cover crops with a drill in 2024, compared to 69% and 57% the previous two years, respectively. 

A broadcast spreader was again the second most common seeding tool, used by 27.8% of farmers. Nearly 17% air seeded their covers, which was down from 22% and 19.3% in the previous two years. In 2023, we saw cover crops seeded with a vertical tillage tool nearly triple from 5.4% in 2022 to 15.5%. Last year, it dropped a few points to around 12%.

Around 22% of growers aerial seeded their covers — half used a drone and the other half flew them on via an airplane or helicopter. Drone use more than doubled in 2024, as it was only around 5% the previous two years. Regionally, 15.6% of growers in the Corn Belt seeded with a drone compared to 10% in the Lake States.

About 10% of all growers used a planter, 5% used an interseeding device, and 3% used a highboy or self-propelled sprayer. Less than 1% seeded cover crops with an on-combine seeder, while none used a pull-type sprayer.

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