Cash crops are making way for cover crops in some local fields. Washington County farmer Jim Cuddeback says he plants cereal rye on the hillier portions of his land that are prone to erosion.

He explains cover crops serve a variety of purposes, like absorbing excess nitrates in the soil. The rye also puts humus back into the soil when it’s killed with herbicide in the spring,.

Cuddeback says the one downside of planting cereal rye is that there isn’t a market for it, so there’s no monetary return. But, he says the hopes are that the benefits of protecting the soil and keeping excess nutrients from ultimately ending up in the Gulf of Mexico outweigh the cost.