Ed, we're in different worlds, yes, but I have some observations to offer.

Planting into a killed cover is best.  Planting into weeds is second best.  Depending on your locale, stale seed beds may work, but not down here on our sandy coastal plain soils.  I think row cleaners are totally optional.  I confess that my conservation tillage farmers had more stand problems this year than the conventional till boys, but they also burned many less gallons of diesel fuel.  While they had to replant, there was a small amount of acreage needing replant.

Burn down the weeds early.  Get out there with something hot enough to do the job.  Another light shot of gramoxone at or right after planting may be necessary.  START OUT CLEAN.  One of my personal objections to planting into late winter and early spring weeds is that they are excellent altnernative hosts for nematodes to build up on as soil warms, then when we kill them and get a crop up and going, nematodes and cutworms jump on the crop.  This is not as much trouble on small grain cover crop.

Rye is our best cover crop, what a root system, what great, lasting cover to preserve moisture.  With rye in a dry year like this, we can save a watering compared to other covers or more conventional tillage.