What’s the question you are most frequently asked when trying to set up a new sustainability initiative? I bet "how much will it cost?" is a leading contender. It’s no different for farmers — the CEOs of businesses with often slim margins.

That’s why the challenge of financing the adoption of regenerative agricultural practices comes up in almost every conversation I have about this topic. Naturally, I was interested in the results of a new study that the Soil Health Institute published Friday assessing the economics of cover cropping and reduced tillage. Get ready for some good news.

The researchers interviewed 100 U.S. crop farmers across nine states and in a variety of climates who are long-term adopters of cover crops and reduced tillage. To understand how these practices affect profitability, yield and other farm outcomes, the performance of such fields was compared to those of conventionally managed ones on the same farm and neighboring farms or to county averages.

"I was surprised by the degree of profitability we saw and am extremely excited about this new information," said Wayne Honeycutt, president and CEO of the Soil Health Institute.

Indeed, the numbers are encouraging: Soil health practices increased net income for 85 percent of farmers growing corn and 88 percent growing soybean. On average, farmers reported increased earnings of $51.60 per acre for corn and $44.89 per acre for soybean.

A set of cost savings and increased revenue account for this change. On the one hand, farmers spend less on fertilizers, pesticides, fuel, labor and equipment. These savings greatly outweigh increased seed expenses. As 67 percent of farmers reported increased yields after adopting the practices, they can also count on higher incomes.

Read the full article about soil health practices by Theresa Lieb at GreenBiz.