Core Ideas Use of a stripper header to leave tall stubble for high‐residue no‐till. Winter triticale outperforms winter wheat in low rainfall dryland production. Tall crop residue reduces wind speeds at the soil surface. The low‐rainfall wheat production zone of eastern Washington is subject to wind erosion because of fine‐textured soils, low soil organic matter content, and tillage‐based winter wheat–summer fallow practices. Annual no‐till spring cropping systems to replace the low‐residue, erosive summer‐fallow period have not been economical. We conducted a 4‐year study at Ralston, WA to evaluate winter triticale (× Triticosecale) and non‐semi‐dwarf winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) biomass production, yield, nutrient use efficiency, and seed‐zone soil moisture during no‐till fallow and establishment of fall‐seeded canola. Treatments included winter triticale and winter wheat, both harvested with either a stripper header or conventional cutter‐bar header. Winter triticale produced more grain per pound of N fertilizer and per inch of soil water available than winter wheat, and overall yield was 30–80% greater than that of winter wheat. Full‐height cereals produced 20–90% more biomass than semi‐dwarf winter wheat. Stripper‐header triticale stubble maintained with no‐till chemical fallow (NTCF) reduced average wind speed at the soil surface to less than one‐half of the average wind speed recorded over reduced‐tillage winter wheat fallow. Soil moisture in the 0‐ to 3‐inch seed zone was greater and more uniform in stripper‐header no‐till fallow than in reduced‐tillage fallow. Maintenance of soil moisture by stripper‐header standing stubble was conducive to timely planting and establishment of fall‐seeded canola and led to greater crop establishment in no‐till fallow. Growing a high‐biomass cereal crop such as winter triticale or standard‐height winter wheat and harvesting with a stripper header produces a high‐residue, no‐till fallow that is a viable alternative to the traditional winter wheat–fallow cropping system.