  The LOFAR radio telescope is able to measure the radio emission from cosmic
ray induced air showers with hundreds of individual antennas. This allows for
precision testing of the emission mechanisms for the radio signal as well as
determination of the depth of shower maximum $X_{\max}$, the shower observable
most sensitive to the mass of the primary cosmic ray, to better than 20
g/cm$^2$. With a densely instrumented circular area of roughly 320 m$^2$, LOFAR
is targeting for cosmic ray astrophysics in the energy range $10^{16}$ -
$10^{18}$ eV. In this contribution we give an overview of the status, recent
results, and future plans of cosmic ray detection with the LOFAR radio
telescope.
