When compacted soils become a problem, as they can anywhere in the country, cover crops can be an effective solution, according to experienced no-till farmers. But you need to know which crop will work in your area to provide the kind of long tap roots needed. Visitors to Farmer’s Forum, the message board of No-Till Farmer, offered a number of possibilities recently. We share their ideas here, as well as thoughts about an assortment of other topics.

While cover crops are often an afterthought in a no-till operation, Steve Groff considers them a vital part of his crop rotation. In fact, he uses cover crops on 90 percent of his farmland.