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Title: ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF SUSTAINABLE CROPPING SYSTEMS

Author
item Lu, Yao
item Watkins, Kenton - Brad
item Teasdale, John

Submitted to: Journal of Sustainable Agriculture
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/4/1999
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Cultivation controls weed growth and incorporates animal manure or crop residues into soil but it also increases soil erosion. Reduced-tillage requires chemical fertilizer and herbicide inputs. Agricultural scientists are challenged to develop profitable cropping systems that incorporate reduced tillage and reduced dependence on chemical inputs. This paper evaluates the profitability and risks associated with four cropping systems for the Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration site at Beltsville, Maryland, for the 1994-97 period. Each system is a two-year rotation of corn followed by winter wheat and soybean. The four systems are 1) no-tillage, 2) crownvetch, 3) cover crops, and 4) manure systems. The cover crop system is most profitable, followed by the no-tillage, the manure, and the crownvetch systems. In terms of risks, no-tillage is preferred to all other rotations. The cover crop is second best, followed by manure and crownvetch systems. The crownvetch system is least desirable in terms of both profitability and risks. The manure system shows potential to be the most profitable system provided that some methods other than herbicide application can be developed to control weeds and its crops can be certified organic and sold at premium prices. The results will help farmers and extension agents select the most profitable cropping systems that are beneficial to the environment and to the natural resource base.

Technical Abstract: This paper evaluates the profitability and risks associated with four cropping systems for the Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration site at Beltsville, Maryland, for the 1994-97 period. Each system follows a two year rotation of corn followed by winter wheat and soybean. The four systems are 1)no-tillage, 2) crownvetch, 3) cover crop, and 4) manure systems. The cover crop is the most profitable, followed by no-tillage, manure, and crownvetch systems. In terms of risks, no-tillage is preferred to all other rotations. The cover crop system is the second best, followed by the manure and crownvetch systems. The crownvetch system is least desirable in terms of both profitability and risks. The manure system was not profitable in 1996 and 1997 because of weed infestations. The manure system shows potential to be the most profitable if some method can be found to control weeds without resorting to herbicides and its crops can be certified organic and sold at premium prices. A word of caution is in order. This study did not evaluate the environmental impacts of these systems. Our previous simulation studies indicate that there may be tradeoffs between profitability and environmental considerations. The results of this study will help farmers select the most profitable cropping systems with environmental stewardship.