ABSTRACT:
Our objective was to analyze economics of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cropping and tillage practices after 10 years of evaluation. We initiated the study in 1983 on a Dooley sandy loam (fine-loamy, mixed Typic Argiboroll) 11 km (7 mi) north of Culbertson, Montana. Annually cropped tillage treatments included sweep tillage in fall with spring disking, sweep tillage in spring, and no-till. A conventional fallow-crop rotation was included. Spring wheat yields ranged from 74 kg/ha (1.1 bu/acre) to 3,465 kg/ha (51.5 bu/acre). Net return was highest for no-till annually cropped wheat at $19.04/ha ($7.71/acre) and lowest for barley-spring wheat rotation at -$23.74/ha (-$9.61/acre). Under conditions of this 10-year study, in a 356 mm (14 in.) precipitation zone, we conclude that annually cropped no-till wheat production was the most profitable cropping practice.
Footnotes
J.K. Aase is a soil scientist with USDA-ARS, Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory, Kimberly, ID 83341; and G.M. Schaefer is an economist with USDA-Natural Resource Conservation Service, Bozeman, MT 59715. This is a contribution from USDA-ARS and NRCS in cooperation with Montana Agricultural Experiment Station, J. Series No. J-2966.
- Copyright 1996 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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