Incorporating cover crops into our cropping systems and moving from conventional tillage to no-till can improve soil organic matter, soil structure, and water and nutrient holding capacity of our soils. Recent research by South Dakota State University looked at the yield and N fertilizer requirements of corn and soybeans interseeded with single- and multi-species cover crops.

Around 10 years ago, a National No-Tillage Conference speaker shared data from a South Africa research project where corn had been grown in 60-inch rows.