Rotational grazing or intensive grazing systems may be a better alternative than row crops. Once you've decided to crop, you will still need an approved conservation plan that meets the alternative conservation system level. You can incorporate existing grass by using it for waterways, field borders, buffer strips, and contour strips into your conservation plan. Management practices must be applied on the land this year, but you may have up to two years to complete structural changes. When seeding into CRP sod, you will want to select a crop that is adaptable and hearty.
Much research shows that fallowing is a wise option in preparation for planting the next wheat crop.
It will take a significant amount of time, with a potential loss of moisture, to incorporate residue and prepare a seed bed, unless no till is considered as part of the plan. No-till may be your best option for controlling erosion and maintaining good soil tilth. However, no-till will require some type of chemical application to kill the existing vegetation. Fall applications of non-selective herbicides are not as effective at killing existing vegetation as spring applications. Full width tillage can help level soil, kill vegetation, incorporate lime and herbicide and speed mineralization of nitrogen from surface plants.