While growers across the U.S. are experimenting with integrating cover crops into their rotations as a source of livestock forage, few do it with as much flair as Bill Buessing.

A self-described “cover crops addict,” the Axtell, Kan., no-tiller maintains a cash crop or cover- crop mix on every acre of his farm year-round. Buessing also seeds an experimental plot each year, testing more than 40 different types of cover crops and blends. He puts the results to work for both his traditional cash crops and a growing cattle herd.

He says covers let him reduce nutrient runoff, retain and utilize more water, slow down wind erosion, help with weed control, build organic matter in the soil, recycle nutrients, feed cattle and build nitrogen (N) for present and future crops.

But, he adds, achieving maximum results requires more than simply adding another planting to a farmer’s rotation. No-tillers must learn how to manage crops more intensely, as well as document how variations in cover-crop blends and practices affect yield and soil health long-term.

“You have to change your mindset if you’re going to make cover crops work,” he says. “Implementing cover crops is a process that does…