Meet Matt Boucher: Fourth-Gen Farmer, Cover Crop Expert

Ten years ago, Matt Boucher was one of the few farmers in his area experimenting with cover crops. Today, that curiosity has grown into a full family operation and a resource other farmers turn to for advice.

Matt farms in Dwight, Illinois, with his wife, three kids, his uncle, and his mom, running Boucher Family Farms as a fourth-generation operation.  Saying the Bouchers keep things diversified is an understatement. Their operation consists of corn, beans, pumpkins, popcorn, hogs for local sale, chickens, eggs and their cover crop business Potential Ag. About a decade ago, Matt started experimenting with cover crops like grasses and radishes, fielding a lot of questions from neighbors along the way. That interest evolved naturally into Potential Ag, the Boucher family's cover crop seed and consulting business, which now offers custom drilling and aerial application by plane, drone, or helicopter for farmers across the area.

Matt's approach to cover crops is anything but one-size-fits-all. "Just because something worked for your neighbor doesn't mean it's necessarily going to work for you," he explains. Instead, he sits down with each farmer individually to understand their crop rotation, planting and harvest timing, and management style before recommending a plan. For farmers just getting started, he often points to oats and radishes — species that can be flown on standing crops, grow through fall, and winterkill so there's nothing to manage in spring. For those ready for more, cereal rye offers another option, though it overwinters and requires a shift in spring management. Watch full video to get to know more about Matt and Boucher Farms.

Matt is also one of our participating cover crop seed coupon companies, and our discount program is coming up in just a couple of weeks. If you've been thinking about trying cover crops on your own operation, this is a great chance to get started at a lower cost so stay tuned for more details soon.