EASTON, MARYLAND — The signup window is over. The planting calendar is not.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Cover Crop Program page says the 2026–2027 enrollment period is now closed and approval letters will be mailed shortly. Sign-up ran June 22 through July 17, 2026, at local soil conservation district offices. For Talbot growers, that office is the Talbot Soil Conservation District in Easton.

Fall dates on the official table. Plant cereal grains by Nov. 5, 2026 — some species sooner. Plant oats or mixes with legumes, forage radish, or canola/rape by Oct. 10, 2026. The aerial seeding deadline is also Oct. 10. The incentive for incorporated seeding methods ends Oct. 10. To be paid, farmers must certify the cover crop with the local soil conservation district within one week of planting and by Nov. 12, 2026, then file follow-up documents by Dec. 1, 2026. Terminate cover crops between March 1 and June 1, 2027.

MDA’s fall calendar applies to fields already enrolled after corn, soybeans, and the other listed prior crops, with a 10-acre minimum. The program pages do not publish a Talbot County enrolled-acre total.