Glyphosate is the anything else, it has costs and benefits. One benefit is that you can use it for no-till farming, which conserves the topsoil, and reduces th

Glyphosate is the anything else, it has costs and benefits. One benefit is that you can use it for no-till farming, which conserves the topsoil, and reduces the amount of diesel fuel , water, and fertilizer inputs required per acre. A big part of no-till is always keeping some kind of plants growing in the fields. The theory being that acres of bare dirt are not found in healthy natural ecosystems. Cover crops are planted in the fall after cash crops are harvested. In the spring, Glyphosate is used to "burn down" the cover crop instead of ploughing it under. This allows the cash crop to grow through the mulch of the dead cover crop, keeping which protects the soil from the sun drying it out or the wind blowing it away. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No-till_farming https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No-till_farming