Browse our extensive lineup of monoculture cover crop seeds.
Looking for a diverse cover crop mix? Browse Pre-Made Mixes or Food Plots.
Single Species Seed
Sunflower (Black Oil Seed)
Sunflower is renowned for its extensive and prolific root system and its ability to soak up residual nutrients out of reach for other commonly used covers or crops. This species can also take advantage of short growing seasons in case of damaging hail or poor emergence to cash crops. If planning to harvest for oil or seed or simply to attract birds, sunflowers have very similar planting and harvesting methods to that of corn. Because insects are attracted to the bright colors of sunflower heads, pollinators and beneficials such as bees, damsel bugs, lacewings, hoverflies, minute pirate bugs, and non-stinging parasitoid wasps are often found in fields of sunflower and in following crops. Sunflowers also work very well in cover crop cocktails/mixtures. With rapid early season establishment, additional covers under the canopy that normally don’t grow under cool conditions can begin to take advantage of warmer and favorable weather when sunflowers are growing slower. With upright growth and anchored plants in the soil, surrounding vining/climbing cover crop plants can support their own growth by working their way up to reach sunlight thereby providing the structure they need to grow. Because sunflowers can add significant biomass production in just a short growing season, they can also serve as additional forage or silage for livestock feed.
from $0.75 per lb
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Buckwheat (Mancan)
Buckwheat is a fast establishing broadleaf that works great as a warm season cover crop. Buckwheat is also known for being a phosphorus scavenger. Which means it can take up more phosphorus efficiently than other plants. Being a short season plant around 45-60 days, it can still produce viable seed throughout the growing season. In a situation where the one plant is grazed it can drop a seed down to take that previous plant's spot to help prevent weeds. This plant while dropping and producing these seeds can also flower making it a great species for pollinators.
from $1.10 per lb
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Sunn Hemp
Sunn hemp is an erect, tall growing legume with an anchoring tap root. The leaves are high in protein for grazing and especially popular with small ruminants like sheep, goats, and deer, but cattle will also eat the leaves. The stalk is very lignified making this a poor species to use in a hay mix.
from $1.90 per lb
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Collards (Impact Forage)
Impact forage collards are a cross between Georgia Southern collards and another leafy brassica and are one of the best grazing brassicas on the market. The large, smooth leaves are very palatable and our testing shows that these collards have the highest protein content in the brassica family. Collards can withstand some of the widest ranges of weather, from hot and dry in the summer, and surviving temperature down to the low single digits in the winter.
from $2.13 per lb
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Austrian Winter Peas
Austrian winter peas are good companions to fall mixes, especially when combined with hairy vetch. If planted in early fall, there can be good growth for fall grazing as a protein source in the mix and they will grow much later into the fall than spring peas. In order to maximize winter survival chances, winter peas need to be planted relatively late (about the middle of wheat planting season) and deep, up to 3 inches. These conditions will help protect the growing point of the pea and assists in survival in colder climates.
from $0.80 per lb
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Purple Top Turnip
Purple top turnips have been a staple grazing brassica for many years and are commonly used in late summer planted grazing mixes, often with a cool season cereal. Turnip bulbs are storehouses of nutrition and energy and are very valuable to winter grazers.
from $1.89 per lb
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Nitro Radish (Daikon)
Rapid fall growth in short windows, allows radishes to fit perfectly into a traditional corn and soybean rotation. Radish residue breaks down very quickly in the spring, leaving a clean seed bed until early April. The residue has been proven to inhibit small seeded annuals from germinating. Nutrients that were scavenged are readily released back into the soil for the subsequent crop. A field planted in radishes, will allow the soil to dry and warm faster in the spring. The large root channel left behind is rich in nutrients, allows tremendous water infiltration, reduces water erosion, and a path for crops roots to follow through compacted soil layers. During decomposition, radish biofumigates the soil which can reduce pest and nematode populations.
from $1.89 per lb
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Trophy Rapeseed
Rape's rapid forage growth produces quality pasture equivalent to alfalfa, with a crude protein value around 16-17%. Boasted for its nutrient scavenging abilities, rape can accumulate potentially large amounts of residual N up to 120lbs N/A. Also, root exudates secreted by rape are known to aid in turning insoluble P into a more available form. Rapes seed cost is by far the cheapest of all the brassica species, generally less than $1/lb. Adding rape in between wheat crops has been shown to greatly reduce take-all in wheat. Rape has an excellent, deep penetrating tap-root with a dense fibourous root mass surrounding the tuber.
from $1.30 per lb
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4010 Non-GMO Spring Forage Pea
Spring peas are one of the fastest growing spring legumes. Planted in spring after the harshest winter cold has passed, spring peas will tolerate some light freezing. Peas are commonly planted with oats as a high quality spring feed either for hay or grazing or even a green manure.
from $0.65 per lb
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Safflower (Baldy)
Safflower is a drought tolerant, annual, warm season broadleaf that can be seeded in cool soils. Safflower is exceptional at breaking hard pans, encouraging water and air movement into the soil profile, as well as scavenging nutrients from depths unavailable to most agronomic crops. It is capable of doing this due to its impressive taproot which has been observed to grow 8-10 feet in ideal conditions. Safflower provides excellent forage for grazing but most varieties become prickly with maturity, rendering the plants unpalatable for livestock. Baldy safflower is one of the world's first spineless safflower varieties and has been developed specifically for grazing and cover crops. Baldy can be handled with bare hands even at maturity and is palatable for livestock grazing. Green Cover Seed owns the exclusive marketing rights for Baldy spineless safflower.
from $0.80 per lb
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Mung Beans
Mung beans are a warm-season legume known for their remarkable heat tolerance and drought resistance. They exhibit rapid growth, maturing in just 65 days. One advantage of mung beans over cowpeas is that their seed pods remain intact, unlike cowpeas, making them an excellent source of late-fall protein for grazing livestock or wildlife. However, it's important to note that mung beans are highly susceptible to cold weather and require a minimum of 60 frost-free days to ensure successful growth. They can be used for both hay production and grazing and are compatible with peanut inoculant. Mung beans typically reach a height of around 3 feet and have a low to medium water usage. Their strengths lie in nitrogen fixation, forage production, and hay production.
from $1.23 per lb
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Fixation Balansa Clover - Nitro Coat OMRI
FIXation balansa clover is the most cold-tolerant annual clover, surviving temperatures as low as -14. Where it does overwinter, FIXation is capable of growing over 200 lbs of nitrogen biomass and it even has a hollow stem making it an option for roller crimping. This can also be used for a high yielding, high protein feed before transitioning to the next summer crop. To have the best chance at winter survivability, plant earlier than other overwintering species. For more information on FIXation balansa clover visit https://fixationclover.com.
from $3.20 per lb
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Hubam White Sweet Clover - OMRI Inoculated
Hubam White Sweet Clover can produce up to 9,000 lbs dry matter per acre over a summer after being oversown into a grain crop or direct seeded with a spring grain nurse crop. While its taproot is shorter and more slender than that of its biennial cousins, it still loosens subsoil compaction. Annual sweetclovers work best in the Deep South, from Texas to Georgia as they are not frost tolerant. There, they establish more quickly than the biennial types and produce more biomass in the seeding year in southern regions.
from $3.80 per lb
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Smart Radish
Green Cover Seed is proud to market the all new Smart Radish. It is bred specifically for the cover crop and soil health market. The variety has a trait for higher plant tillering to provide more leaf area and higher plant biomass than many other radish options for forage, soil, cover and green manure. Larger leaves mean more solar collection area to harvest the sun’s energy, and the smoother leaf means it’s better for forage and grazing.
from $2.45 per lb
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Flax (Brown)
Flax can be utilized in many small grain and corn rotations as a potential cover crop or fiber/oil crop. Compared to other common crops, overall nutrient demand is lower and very little nitrogen is needed. Vegetative growth normally requires 50 days before flowering occurs but after this flowering can last 2-4 weeks. Flax can be utilized as a green manure if terminated early enough but take caution if attempting to cut too late as lignin/cellulose content increase with maturity and would hamper decomposition. Nearly 95% of the water flax extracts from the soil is in the top 2-3 feet because of its shallow root structure. Water use is considered moderate with respect to other field crops, but flax uses about 3-4 inches less than soybeans. This is primarily due to the fact that the leaves of flax are generally numerous but leaf area is limited and thus ET is lower. As mentioned before, this species is an excellent companion crop next to other species in an early season mixture. Flax is generally a self-pollinated crop but pollinating insects are attracted to the various blue/purple colors of the flowers. Because flax is a broadleaf species, most diseases associated with it will not transfer over and cause infection to corn, soybeans, or wheat with the exception of powdery mildew and rhizoctonia after legumes.
from $1.15 per lb
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Okra (Clemson Spineless 80)
Okra is a great way to add diversity to almost any mix. With a deep taproot and good grazing characteristics, above and belowground livestock will benefit from this plant. Okra also has excellent drought tolerance. It can be used in both warm and cool season mixes. Add okra to help break up compaction, build soil, and provide feed for animals.
from $2.15 per lb
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Cowpeas (Iron & Clay)
Cowpeas are one of the most popular warm season legumes. They love the heat, they tolerate drought, and they offer nitrogen fixation in a soil building mix, or higher protein in an annual grazing mix. Cowpeas have a long maturity which means when they are planted at the beginning of summer, they can achieve a lot of growth before temperatures cool down into fall.
from $1.25 per lb
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Phacelia
Phacelia enhances soil N uptake, boosts soil organic matter with C, suits low to medium N soils for feed/hay. While forage yield is modest, it's palatable to livestock even at maturity. Best planting times: early spring or late summer (like alfalfa), but it blooms in spring planting and aids potassium availability.
from $4.30 per lb
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Kale (Bayou Kale-Rape Hybrid)
This hybrid plant is the product of blending two brassica parent plants: kale and forage rape. This innovative hybrid boasts a unique combination of qualities, harnessing the quick establishment capabilities of forage rape and the exceptional winter resilience of kale. The resulting kale-rape hybrid stands as a superior source of high-protein forage, tailor-made for winter grazing. Its accelerated growth, robust vigor, and resilience to harsh winter conditions make it an ideal choice for livestock feed.
from $2.95 per lb
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Crimson Clover (Kentucky Pride) - OMRI Inoculated
Kentucky Pride is an improved variety of crimson clover selected for more cold tolerance and more production (taller, deeper roots, more basal leaves and more tillering) than varieties like Dixie. Kentucky Pride crimson clover is a very fast establishing clover.
from $3.05 per lb
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Sugar Beets Non-GMO
Sugar beets, a versatile broadleaf cover crop, bring a formidable combination of deep-rooted prowess and frost resistance to your agricultural arsenal. Their robust taproots can penetrate stubborn hardpans, with the majority of root growth hidden beneath the surface. These beets are not only sweet in content but also a preferred choice for both wildlife and cattle grazing. When grazed early, they display remarkable regrowth potential.
from $3.25 per lb
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Common Vetch
Common vetch, is a valuable cover crop widely used in the industry. As a leguminous plant, it provides nitrogen fixation, improving soil fertility. Common vetch's extensive root system prevents erosion and helps control weeds, making it a natural choice for sustainable farming. It enhances soil quality by adding organic matter, supports crop rotation systems, and provides early-season ground cover. Additionally, it can serve as a habitat for wildlife and, in some cases, offer forage for livestock. Common vetch's cold tolerance makes it suitable for various climates, but it is not nearly as cold tolerant as that of Hairy vetch.
from $1.60 per lb
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African Cabbage
African cabbage, a robust and rapidly growing brassica, thrives in a variety of warm season mixes, which makes it an intriguing option for interseeding into corn mixes. What sets it apart is its unique ability to stand tall and keep its leaves even in the face of cold weather, making it an exceptional choice for a snow-catching cover crop. Its enduring residue and strong root system enable captured snow to seep into the soil, enriching the moisture content in your land.
from $2.55 per lb
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Plantain (Boston)
Plantain is a low-growing forb that, like chicory, is high in minerals. It also contains a natural antibiotic compound that helps reduce infections and also modifies rumen fermentation to improve animal performance, similar to an ionophore like Rumensin. It grows very well on compacted soils and helps loosen them.
from $5.00 per lb
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Proso Millet (White)
Proso millet is one of the most drought tolerant and cost effective annual grasses. It is the shortest growing millet though it grows taller in the northern plains than it might in the central or southern plains. Heading out in less than 60 days, this is a great plant for game bird mixes.
from $0.70 per lb
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Northern Cereal Rye
Cereal Rye has an excellent fibrous root system that alleviates surface compaction. Rye can be successful planted later then almost any other cover crop due to its low germination and growth temperature requirements. Cereal rye is known for being the best cereal crop at retaining residual N. It's typical for a fall planted cereal rye crop to scavenge on average 25 to 50 lbs of N, with cases scavenging in excess of 100 lbs of N. The vigorous spring growth has successful weed suppression through competition and allelopathic chemicals. Rye can be terminated in the spring through the alternative methods of rolling, mowing, or crimping after boot stage. Rye will out yield any other cereal crops when planted in droughty, infertile, or sandy soils.
from $0.32 per lb
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Winter Lentil (Morton)
Winter lentils are a lesser used species but offer several benefits. Lentils are relatively low growing and modest in their growth however, they consistently overwinter in Zone 5B where winter temperatures can drop below -25 degrees F. Winter lentils can be added with winter cereals and other winter legumes to have a more diverse overwintering cover crop.
from $1.05 per lb
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Hairy Vetch
Hairy vetch is the most cold tolerant winter annual legume. Tolerating temperatures as low as -30 degrees, this is best planted before the first frost in the fall and then it will resume growth in the spring. Hairy vetch is slower to green up and has slower spring growth compared to cereal rye and wheat but once it does get going, it grows very fast, doubling it’s growth each week through the month of May. With patience and a delayed corn planting, a full stand of vetch can consistently produce over 200 lbs of nitrogen in its biomass. As part of a winter cover crop or forage mix, vetch is commonly grown with rye or triticale.
from $2.45 per lb
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Brown Top Millet
With extremely rapid growth, browntop millet can fill narrow growing windows to produce a nice quality forage. Under ideal conditions seed will germination within 5 days and forage or seed will be ready to harvest within two months time. Very fine stems and leaves allows plant material to dry down effectively for dry hay production. Browntop millet is an effective nurse crop, much like oats, in stabilizing erosive hill slopes and providing cover for slower growing target species to become established. Research has shown browntop helps to suppress root-knot nematode within the soil. This species is very inexpensive, providing a full stand for less than $15 an acre. With the ability to easily reseed and that seed to remain viable in the soil profile for years, makes browntop millet an excellent regenerating food plot for wildlife.
from $1.45 per lb
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Japanese Millet
Japanese millet, known for its quick maturity, usually offers a lower forage yield compared to other millet varieties. However, it stands out for its superior post-maturity palatability when compared to foxtail millet and its impressive regrowth capabilities. Additionally, Japanese millet exhibits remarkable resilience to waterlogged soils, thriving even in standing water, making it a valuable choice for enhancing duck habitat and nourishment in food plots.
from $1.20 per lb
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Balady Berseem Clover - OMRI Inoculated
Berseem clover produces a non-bloating, high quality forage, that's more palatable than alfalfa. Berseem forage has been observed to maintain a CP content of 28-30% throughout harvesting regiments, which is slightly higher than crimson clover or alfalfa. Berseem clover has low water requirements and can provide strong biomass recovery after being mowed. A rapidly, consistent stand can be achieved because germination can occur in just 7 days and minimal hard seed counts. This clover produces flowers which are self-sterile so reseeding is not a concern. These flowers do provide a great pollen source, which is highly sought after by honeybees. Berseem can be controlled easily with glyphosate or when planted in colder regions will winterkill. With good shade tolerance, this species can be utilized for interseeding into crop systems or forage mixtures.
from $2.45 per lb
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Turnip Hybrid (Vivant Hybrid)
Vivant Hybrid Brassica excels as a rapidly flourishing leafy brassica with minimal bulb formation, making it an ideal choice for multiple grazing cycles. It has been carefully selected for late bolting and remarkable regrowth after a graze, offering exceptional feed quality and digestibility. This not only enhances animal performance but also significantly boosts producer profits. Vivant can be conveniently planted alongside cereal grains or annual ryegrass in the spring or late summer to provide excellent tonnage and high-quality forage, further maximizing your feed production.
from $2.45 per lb
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Florida Broadleaf Mustard (Shield)
Mustard produces significantly more glucosinolates than other brassicas, which biofumigates the soil during decomposition, proving to be toxic to many soil pathogens and pests. If this is your goal than another mustard species should be utilized, since this cultivar isn't as suited for this purpose. Growing mustard in a potato rotation was observed to increase tuber quality and yields similar to that of chemically fumigated fields. Other documented effects of having mustard in your rotation is suppressing potato early dying and reduced root rot in pea rotations. Some customers are concerned that these mustards are difficult to control like their wild cousins but actually they can be easily terminated with many commonly utilized herbicides. Mustard forage is known for its ability to be utilized as a natural dewormer in grazing systems.
from $2.35 per lb
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Grain Sorghum (Foodplot)
Grain sorghum provides an excellent opportunity for feeding wildlife. The grain heads, which mature in late summer to early fall will attract the wildlife species and provide superior nutrition. Grain sorghum is an excellent option for upland birds in particular.
from $1.60 per lb
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Forage Sorghum (Coes)
Coes is a dual purpose sorghum developed in the arid, high plains of eastern Colorado. It is a cost effective addition to a warm season grazing or hay mix but can also be used in wildlife mixes since it will produce seed heads after about 60 days. This is a short to medium statured forage sorghum and has very good drought tolerance.
from $0.70 per lb
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Chickpeas (Desi)
As the most heat tolerant of the cool season legumes, chickpeas offer a versatility that can be used in both warm and cool season mixes. Though not a great biomass producer, chickpeas are very drought tolerant and can help cover the ground in the midst of a summer drought. This taprooted plant can be used with grasses to add diversity and help break up compaction. As a legume, chickpeas will also fix nitrogen into the soil.
from $0.75 per lb
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Teff Grass (HayMaker) - OMRI Coated
Teff makes a very palatable hay and is well accepted by all livestock types. Teff can be difficult to establish. It has a very tiny seed, much smaller than an alfalfa seed. It must be planted very shallow, about one-eighth of an inch deep, or seedlings will not emerge. Seedlings also need a week or so of moist soil to become established well enough to survive. This shouldn't be a problem with irrigation.
from $2.30 per lb
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Sainfoin - OMRI Exceed Pre-Coat
Sainfoin produces most of its growth in the spring, with little production in summer or fall. It has beautiful pink clusters of flowers and is an excellent honey plant. In areas where alfalfa makes two cuttings or fewer, sainfoin will exceed alfalfa in production. In warmer areas its yield is much less than alfalfa. Newer varieties such as Shoshone are much better than older ones at yield, regrowth and persistence. Can be used as bloat prevention in alfalfa fields. Used extensively in the Northern Plains in place of alfalfa. It does not tolerate heavy grazing very well.
from $2.80 per lb
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Spring Lentil
Lentils thrives in cool, dry conditions where they can remain relatively free of disease hence, they are commonly grown in the norther Great Plains. With a shallow rooting structure that doesn't have the ability to reach subsoil moisture, lentils are a great option in front of cereals or deep rooting crops. If excessive moisture is present during the growing season it will delay plant maturity. This will be excellent for producers who want to plant a summer fallow mixture where the mix can continue to grow under ideal conditions. Lentils are known for their ability to emerge through thick cereal stubble due to their strong seedling vigor. With rapid seed germination, seedlings generally out grow the threat of insects or disease pressure during establishment. Lentils can also house mycorrhizal fungi. Mature lentil straw can be an option for feed as it is much higher in CP, digestibility and palatability when compared to cereal straws.
from $1.05 per lb
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Sorghum (Egyptian Wheat)
Surprise! Egyptian wheat is a… sorghum. As one of the tallest growing cover crop species, this is a good biomass builder that can also be used as a view blocker. Eventually what goes up must come down so when freezing or wind damage occurs, the seed heads which may be 12 feet high lodge over to the ground to make great feed and habitat for game birds.
from $2.00 per lb
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RC Big Rock Switchgrass
RC Big Rock Switchgrass is a new late season variety of upland switchgrass developed from Cave-in-Rock. This is a native perennial warm season grass that is extremely productive, reaching 8 feet tall on the best soils of the Midwest. It also establishes faster than most native grasses because it has larger seeds with reduced dormancy and more seedling vigor. RC Big Rock can grow 2 ft tall in 2 months in the seeding year. This is a multi-purpose variety to be used for wildlife habitat, soil conservation, and forage throughout the greater Midwest where annual rainfall averages 30-50”.
from $16.05 per lb
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Sorghum Sudan (Sweet Six Dry Stalk BMR) - Hybrid
Sweet Six Dry Stalk BMR is designed for use in haying or silage situations in non-arid environments. The stalk will shatter when harvested, helping to speed the dry down process. The BMR trait contributes to a highly digestible forage option for livestock.
from $1.70 per lb
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Spring Forage Barley (Lavina) - Beardless
Barley has relatively low water usage compared to other cover crop species, especially during earlier growth stages. Under poor fertility conditions, barley would be a good choice and can help render P & K available for your next crop. Barley provides a good feed quality grain that can be harvested 2-3 weeks earlier than wheat which then allows your double crop/cover to be planted sooner.
from $0.45 per lb
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Sesame
Sesame is a warm season broadleaf that is normally grown for the oil content of the seed. It is one of the oldest cultivated plants and has been grown by people for over 4,000 years. Sesame loves hot weather and can grow with very limited water as well as being fairly tolerant of low pH soils. Sesame can grow 5-6 tall and will put on bell-shaped, white and purple flowers late in the season which makes it a great addition to a full season pollinator mix. Sesame has little to no forage value as livestock will not graze it, but it can still be a good addition to a grazing mix so there is some taller standing structure after the cattle have grazed the paddock.
from $2.15 per lb
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Berseem Clover (Frosty) - OMRI Coated
Berseem clover is a Mediterranean type that is salt tolerant, nitrogen fixing, and does well on light textured, sandy soils. Compared to other varieties of berseem clover, Frosty is later maturing, more cold tolerant, more productive, and has greater nutritional value. Frosty berseem clover can be overseeded into thinning stands of alfalfa as it looks very similar (before it blooms white) and it has excellent regrowth after cutting. For more information on Frosty berseem clover visit https://frostyclover.com.
from $3.55 per lb
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Felix Faba Beans
Faba beans are one of the oldest plants under cultivation, having been grown in ancient Greece and Rome. Unlike other beans, they prefer cool weather, allowing them to be planted — and harvested — much earlier. Faba beans have a distinct flavor and creamy texture that make them a fine ingredient for a wide variety of dishes. This legume is a natural, organic fertilizer (called a green manure) that fixes nitrogen in the soil for other plants to use. By planting faba beans in your garden, food plot or field, you can improve soil fertility at the same time without needing to add other fertilizers and amendments.
from $0.85 per lb
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White Mustard (White Gold)
Mustard produces significantly more glucosinolates than other brassicas, which biofumigates the soil during decomposition, proving to be toxic to many soil pathogens and pests. To best utilize these glucosinolates, mature green vegetation should be turned into the soil. In no-till operations you will still benefit from having this species for this use. When allowed enough growing season, yellow mustard stem residue can remain erect throughout the winter months, aid in capturing snow to help build moisture in the soil profile. Growing mustard in a potato rotation was observed to increase tuber quality and yields similar to that of chemically fumigated fields. Other documented effects of having mustard in your rotation is suppressing potato early dying and reduced root rot in pea rotations. Some customers are concerned that these mustards are difficult to control like their wild cousins but actually they can be easily terminated with many commonly utilized herbicides.
from $2.55 per lb
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Sudangrass (Piper)
Sudangrass is a super fast growing, fine stemmed warm season annual grass. If summer weed suppression was the goal, this would be one of the best species to accomplish that. Sudangrass is commonly crossed with sorghum to make sorghum-sudan which Takes the fast, tall growing, fine stemmed traits of sudangrass and combines it with the wider leaf and oftentimes higher forage quality of sorghum. For the best grazing digestibility, a BMR (brown midrib) sorghum sudan is usually used which has less lignin.
from $1.45 per lb
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