Wheat stubble, he says, can be an excellent seedbed to plant forages into using no-till - a procedure increasingly used in Australia.

Soil moisture is conserved, erosion is reduced, weed seeds remain buried, and tillage expenses are eliminated.

Despite these advantages, many US growers still experience spotty stands.

To help ensure success when planting into wheat stubble, he's advised US farmers to take a few extra step, namely:

• One big challenge is heavy residue that might limit proper drill operation and seed placement or even might partly smother new seedlings.

Residue can be especially troublesome right behind the seeding combine, even when using a good straw chopper.

The best way to minimise this problem is to bale the straw and remove excess residue, Anderson says.

Also, make sure your drill is performing as it should, he says.

• Another challenge is the growth of weeds such as annuals that develop after wheat is combined and volunteer wheat also, that sprouts later in the summer.

So he says control weeds prior to planting with herbicides like glyphosate.

And be ready with post-emerge herbicides for later emerging weeds or volunteer wheat, if those products are permitted for the forage you are planting.

• Finally, he urges UIS farmers to consider cross-drilling or double-drilling, another no-till practice increasingly used successfully on Australian farms.

Under this system, growers plant one-half of the seed while driving one direction, then plant the other half driving in a different direction.

This helps fill in gaps, develops canopy and improves weed control earlier - and minimises the impact of variable soil moisture profiles across a paddock.

It may help farmers to plant the right amount of seed if they commonly end up running out or have much seed left over.