Long-term economic impacts of no-till adoption

Authors: CHE, YUYAN - North Carolina State University; REJESUS, RODERICK - North Carolina State University; Cavigelli, Michel; White, Kathryn; AGLASAN, SERKAN - Mehmet Akif Ersoy University; KNIGHT, LYNN - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, USDA); Dell, Curtis; HOLLLINGER, DAVID - Us Forest Service (FS); LANE, ERIN - Us Forest Service (FS)

Submitted to: Soil Security
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/10/2023
Publication Date: 9/15/2023
Citation: Che, Y., Rejesus, R.M., Cavigelli, M.A., White, K.E., Aglasan, S., Knight, L.G., Dell, C.J., Holllinger, D., Lane, E. 2023. Long-term economic impacts of no-till adoption. Soil Security. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.soisec.2023.100103.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soisec.2023.100103

Interpretive Summary: No-till has long been considered a sustainable agricultural practice because of its potential to provide on-farm productivity and off-site environmental benefits. However, farmers are often reluctant to adopt no-till due to costs being greater than returns in the short term. This study evaluated the long-term (1996-2019) economic impact of no-till adoption using crop yield and management data from a replicated field trial that included conventional and no-tillage corn-soybean-wheat/soybean rotations. Results show that corn and soybean yields were similar in both systems but wheat yields were greater in no-till than conventional till. Nonetheless, net returns (or profits) per acre tend to be greater for no-till than conventional tillage, largely due to lower farm operation costs associated with no-till. In addition, results also indicate that relative profitability of no-till increases with time. This insight supports suggestions from previous studies where long-term adoption of continuous no-till is important to best realize the benefits from the practice. These results will be of interest to farmers, scientists, carbon brokerage firms, and policy makers.

Technical Abstract: No-till has long been considered a sustainable agricultural practice because of its potential to provide on-farm productivity benefits as well as off-site environmental benefits. However, “economic concerns” have been identified as one of the largest barriers to adopting no-till (i.e., costs associated with adoption possibly being greater than the returns in the short term). This study evaluates the long-term economic impact of no-till adoption using rich plot-level data from yearly field experiments from 1996 until 2019. Linear fixed-effect models and partial budgeting techniques are used in the empirical analysis. Estimation results reveal that there are no statistically significant differences between long-term yields from no-till relative to the conventional tillage practice when considering corn, soybean and wheat together, or corn and soybean separately. The effect of no-till on wheat yield is significantly positive. The partial budgeting analysis using the long-term data suggests that net returns (or profits) per acre tend to be greater for no-till compared to conventional tillage for all three crops. This is primarily due to the statistically lower farm operation costs associated with no-till. Moreover, results also suggest that relative profitability of no-till increases as the practice is used longer over time. This insight supports suggestions from previous studies where long-term adoption of continuous no-till is important to best realize the benefits from the practice.