The potential for cover crops to decrease agricultural nutrient losses and improve soil health has sparked a reemergence of interest in the practice. Though, recent studies have shown that there is a reluctance to adopt cover crops and producers identify matters like familiarity with cover crops, species selection and economic return, or lack thereof, as the reason why. This study aimed to evaluate the direct net returns of implementing a predominantly cereal rye cover crop mix into a Midwest corn-soybean rotation.