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Southeast MN | I asked a very similar question back when I started and the best advice I got was to talk to someone in your area already doing what you are considering. Then try it on a few fields to get some experience.
I farm in Winona and Wabasha counties and have been notill since '98. My rotation is corn for grain, beans and a little alfalfa. What I've learned "here" may not apply to your situation though.
Notill corn into sod is easy IF you kill it in the fall. Spring burndown can be a 50% yield hit on the corn depending on the season. Sold some corn silage a couple years and the trucks compacted the soil. Not sure the best fix for that, maybe injecting manure would take out some of that compaction but manure wasn't an option for me.
Establishing alfalfa into bean stubble is easier than into corn stubble. I work the ground going to be seeded down, mostly to get a nice level seedbed and make the haying operations easier. Seems like several years of corn/beans and trashwhippers on the planter creates little ridges in the field and want to take those out with the soil finisher. Try to airflow the alfalfa seed on with some fert just ahead of a rain. Took a gamble once and used a CIH 5100 drill directly into 160 bu corn stubble and got away with it. Pulled a drag harrow behind the drill and caught a good rain right after seeding and it established. (Better to be lucky than talented somedays...)
As far as planter setup, I run row cleaners to clear the corn and bean residue but don't really need them in fall killed sod. I also use keetons and a single spade/std rubber closing wheel but used the standard wheels the first couple years. When it's a bit damp, the spader helps close the slot.
As others have stated, notill does take a little more management and attention to detail. I trade that for seat time pulling tillage equipment.
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No tilling in the north
