Bayer Carbon Program Reduced-Till Offer

Do you qualify for the reduced-till offer?

Reducing passes and intensity on your cover crop acres can potentially make you eligible for the Bayer Carbon Program.

Key Eligibility Requirements:

• Accepting acres implementing both reduced-till and cover crops.

• Must transition from a multiple-pass tillage system with a primary tillage tool to a single, full-width tillage system using a secondary or “one-pass” tool (see chart below).

• Secondary tillage tools must operate at a depth of no more than four inches, and at least 30% of residue must remain ahead of planting.

• A single pass of a subsoiler/in-line ripper is permitted every other year.

• Field must have a practice change date on or after August 15, 2019.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Which regenerative agriculture practices are accepted for the 2025 Bayer Carbon Program reduced-till offer?
A: Accepting acres implementing both reduced-till and cover crops.

• Cover crops: You intentionally plant and grow a crop of grass, small grain, legumes, or brassicas or other broadleaves (or a combination of those crops) on the field after the harvest of the primary cash crop until the time of planting the next primary cash crop for the purpose of seasonal soil protection or soil improvement. The cover crop practice does not permit the removal of cover crop biomass from the field (such as through burning, baling, harvesting, or grazing). For more information, please refer to NRCS CPS Code 340, the NRCS Field Office Technical Guide (available at https://efotg.sc.egov.usda.gov/#/), or other source Bayer may provide.

• Reduced-till: you only partially till the field ahead of planting through the use of a Secondary Tillage Tool. Secondary Tillage Tools must have an operating depth of no more than four inches and result in 30% or more soil residue cover at crop planting. The reduced-till practice requires the transition, upon the adoption of the practice, from a multiple-pass tillage system that includes the use of a Primary Tillage Tool, to a single full-width tillage system that includes the use of a Secondary Tillage Tool. The reduced-till practice does not permit the use of disks (including high-speed disks).

  • A “Primary Tillage Tool” is a heavy/offset disk, disk-ripper, moldboard plow, chisel-plow, v-ripper, or other applicable tool as designated on myforground.com.
  • A “Secondary Tillage Tool” (also known as a “one-pass tool”) is a vertical tillage tool, field cultivator, soil finisher, mulch finisher, harrow, or other applicable tool as designated on myforground.com.

Q: How much can I earn through the 2025 Bayer Carbon Program reduced-till offer?¹
A: You have the potential to earn up to $12/acre ($6/acre for cover crops and $6/acre for reduced-till), subject to state acre enrollment limits.

Q: I received a message saying one or more of my fields will be waitlisted for the 2025 Bayer Carbon Program reduced-till offer, what does that mean?
A: The 2025 Bayer Carbon Program is accepting limited acres for each practice by state. Once a state’s acre limit for a practice is reached, interested growers will be placed on a wait list and notified if additional acres for a practice will be accepted.

¹ Payments subject to: (a) verification by Bayer that the selected practices have been performed and, for historical payments, that carbon assets have been generated; and (b) all other applicable terms of the Bayer Carbon-Smart Practices Master Agreement and attached program terms.

Certain practices may be subject to state acre enrollment limits. The regenerative agriculture program described in this material is subject to the current version of the Bayer Carbon-Smart Practices Master Agreement and attached program terms. The information is to aid in the understanding of the program and does not change or modify the Bayer Carbon-Smart Practices Master Agreement and attached program terms in any way.