Department advises of increase in low-flying planes due to fall cover crop planting

The Maryland Department of Agriculture is advising rural residents to anticipate a rise in low-flying airplanes, helicopters, and drones through Oct. 10. Farmers participating in Maryland’s Cover Crop Program are using aerial seeding to plant cereal grains and other qualifying cover crops in their fields to protect local waterways from nutrient runoff and enhance their soil's health for spring crops.

“Aerial seeding is a fast and efficient way to plant cover crops to recover any leftover nutrients from summer crops before they impact local waterways,” said Maryland Agriculture Secretary Kevin Atticks. “Planting fall cover crops early becomes especially important during a drought year, when summer crops cannot use all the nutrients available in the soil. Residents of rural Maryland should anticipate an increase in low-flying aircraft over the next few weeks as critical aerial seeding takes place."

Farmers enrolled in the department’s Cover Crop Program receive grants to plant small grains, legumes, and other cover crops in their fields in the fall. Farmers may incorporate seeds into newly harvested fields or aerially seed them into standing corn, soybeans, or sorghum. Once established, cover crops work all winter to provide a living, protective cover against erosion and nutrient runoff while building the soil’s organic matter for spring crops. Cover crops also help remove carbon dioxide—a greenhouse gas—from the air and can protect farm fields from too much or too little rain. When planting cover crops, no pesticides or fertilizers are applied. For aerial seeding, small planes and helicopters will take off from local airports serving the county or region.

Maryland’s Cover Crop Program is funded by the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund and the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund. The program is administered by the department and the state’s 24 soil conservation districts through the Conservation Grants Program. For more information, please contact your local soil conservation district.