While no-tillers may have started dabbling in cover crops by planting two species at a time, these early adopters are now taking the natural next step by planting cover crop mixes.

Corn and soybeans have been the main crop sources for producing energy fuels, such as ethanol, biodiesel and biomass. But in the quest for the most efficient energy feedstocks, perennial grasses like switchgrass and miscanthus, oilseeds like camelina, and short-rotation woody crops such as hybrid poplars are beginning to emerge as viable energy crops for U.S. farmers.