Planting in a field with a cover crop

Using a no-till planter, a north-central Iowa farmer plants soybeans into a cereal rye cover crop that has been killed off recently to avoid interference with the main crop. Using a combination of no-till planting and cover crops keeps living roots in the ground throughout much of the year and minimizes soil disturbance. Public domain photo by Jason Johnson of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.