Anaerobic digestion (AD) offers a triple transition opportunity by fostering renewable energy, contributing to a circular economy through waste recycling, and supporting farmer autonomy. In France, AD deployment has recently surged, with an expected rise in energy cover crop (ECC) utilisation, potentially reshaping cropping systems and agricultural practices. However, farming systems linked to AD remain understudied in France, resulting in AD assessments often disconnected from actual farming conditions. Through semi-structured interviews with farmers, we characterised cropping system changes of non-livestock farming systems with AD, focusing on French cereal-growing regions (most impacted by ECC introduction). Key findings reveal barley and rye predominance as winter ECC, and maize and sorghum as summer ECC. These ECC are often treated with pesticides, and irrigated on half of the interviewed farms during summer. Although digestate has the potential to reduce fertiliser use, actual savings varied among farms. This highlights the importance of effective digestate management and the use of agro-industrial waste in AD. AD farming systems may affect water resources, necessitating future AD assessments to consider the impacts of climate change and water scarcity on yields. Our findings underscore the importance of aligning AD deployment with sustainable agricultural practices to ensure a successful energy transition.