3rd Crops for Water Quality – Phase 2

The 3rd Crop Initiative is the foundation of our work. A third crop is any crop beyond corn and soybeans that is not a row crop. Third crops are intended to be several different types of crops, not just one additional crop. The work of Rural Advantage is focused toward targeting third crops to environmentally sensitive areas of the landscape. Converting environmentally sensitive land, currently in annual tillage, to perennials can result in multiple benefits. Our primary goal, and a result of third crops, is the significant reduction of non-point source pollution loading from agricultural lands in annual tillage. Pollution concerns include nitrogen, phosphorous, sediment and pathogens.