What would you do if you couldn’t use glyphosate?

That was the question posed to Steve Groff by a French farmer he was visiting.

It wasn’t a scenario Groff had seriously pondered. Despite his long commitment to no-till, his immediate thought was that he might have to do some tillage.

While it may seem like an interesting thought experiment for some, for others it could one day be reality. Paraquat is already illegal in the European Union, and some European countries are beginning to ban glyphosate, too.

While glyphosate may remain legal in the U.S., it is losing its effectiveness, with herbicide resistance becoming a growing global problem. And it’s pushing farmers to find alternative ways to control weeds.

One effective strategy? Cover crops. Especially when paired with a roller-crimper. 

In fact, Groff turned to roller-crimping cover crops in the mid 1990s on his farm in Holtwood, Pa., to cut back on Roundup, which cost $40-50 per gallon at the time.

Whatever the reason a no-tiller may have for wanting to move away from herbicides or lessen their reliance on them, a good cover crop practice is likely part of the solution. Groff shares some real-life examples of how effective this practice can be and offers practicable tips on how to make it a successful strategy for your farm.

Work with Nature

To combat weeds, we first need to understand why they’re present in the first place. 

“Weeds are really nature’s way of trying to cover the soil,” Groff says…