Soil that is exposed to the elements over winter is an area of hugh losses and we try to avoid it. The goal is to have a growing vegetation cover in place, protecting the soil right until snow comes, through the winter and again in the critical period of spring runoff. This not only protects against erosion, but allows the plant-soil life ecosystem to continue its work throughout the growing season. We have continued growing corn on a small scale to experiment with various underseedings that might eliminate the need for fall plowing. Until these are satisfactorily developed, it won't have a regular spot in the rotation.
Manure management is also a critical part of our operation.
We have gradually put in place a system to collect liquid runoff from the manure storage area, while composting the solid portion with what I feel is a minimum of time and effort. The time we do devote to better manure handling is well spent, especially when a good quality compost can be used to invigorate the soil community. The first two years without fertilizers were tough and we had significant yield reductions, especially in 2nd and 3rd year corn fields. It takes a while to adjust your thinking to looking at the whole farm as one body, rather than field by field, crop by crop. No part of the farm can be treated individually, in isolation from the rest of the system.