Driving through a landscape allows you to observe fields with and without soil disturbance. Physical disturbance or tillage is the easiest to see.

Some of the soils I helped farm as a child in southwestern North Dakota are probably somewhere in South Dakota now. I grew up in the era of wheat and summer fallow. A lot of the ground around here is very sandy and marginal. Did it ever blow when we were tilling. I remember as a kid getting sent with a disc or a drag to try and make it stop blowing. It seemed so futile, and it was.

Whether it's boosting soil organic matter, improving water infiltration, reducing compaction or fixing nitrogen, it’s more clear than ever that cover crops are at the center of discussion when it comes to progressive no-tilling.

From airplanes and helicopters to highboy seeders, spreaders and planters, there are plenty of options for seeding cover crops. But many no-tillers prefer to use the tried-and-true no-till drills to seed covers.