Tillage system, cover crop, and nitrogen fertilization levels were the variables controlled in an experiment designed to measure the effects of those variables on cotton lint production and leaching of nitrate. The experiment was conducted during three growing seasons, 1996 - 1998. The tillage systems utilized were conventional and strip till. The cover crops were fallow, crimson clover, and wheat. Four levels of nitrogen fertilization were used – 0, 60, 120, and 180 pounds N per acre. Cotton lint yield was not affected by tillage system or cover crop. Cover crop did affect nitrate leaching, but tillage system did not. Nitrogen level affected both yield and leaching. Because cotton yield varied with nitrogen levels only, and because production costs for the tillage systems are similar, the economic problem is not significant compared to the sustainability and intergenerational issues that must be addressed.