The way some government agencies and ag groups are promoting cover crops these days, you’d think it was a brand new cropping practice. But while cover crops are a hot topic, it’s not because of any major research breakthroughs or being new on the ag scene. Instead, cover crops are offering a soil health message that’s starting to catch on with many folks both in and out of agriculture — a benefit that no-tillers have seen for many years.

Farming in the Shenandoah Valley in West Virginia has its fair share of challenges. Bordered by the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and by the eastern front of the ridge-and-valley Appalachians to the west, the valley is beautiful, but rocky.