Given an ultimatum to choose only one farming practice, No-Till Innovator and soil health expert Ray Archuleta would choose cover crops. 

“Living, diverse plants are the no. 1 thing, then no-till,” Archuleta said at the 2023 National No-Tillage Conference (see more here). “Why does no-till come afterward? No-till stops the destruction of the house, but it does not feed the factory workers — the microbes. Those are critical.”

Like Archuleta, many no-tillers are turning to cover crops to boost the biology in their soils and tackle issues like compaction and weed pressure. About 77% of no-tillers who responded to the 2022 No-Till Operational Benchmark Study reported planting cover crops.

The 2023 National Cover Crop Summit, a virtual event hosted by No-Till Farmer sister publication Cover Crop Strategies, is scheduled for March 14-16. It will feature eight sessions packed with practical tips to help no-tillers implement cover crops into their operations and learn about the many benefits of using covers.

By request of previous years’ attendees, the 2023 summit has been extended to 3 days to give farmers additional time to view the on-demand and live sessions. Attendees may watch the six on-demand and pre-recorded presentations for free. The paid VIP registration grants access to attend a live farmer panel discussing cover crop best practices for various tillage practices and an exclusive session by No-Till Legend and “Cover Crop Coach” Steve Groff, 2023 Cover Crop Trends.

Here’s a preview of Groff’s session and two other highly anticipated free…