Better Farming February 2017

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52 Dig Deeper: Better Farming February 2017
CROPS: YIELDMATTER$
town Campus, have aptly demonstrat-
ed that wheat in the rotation enhances
the yield of the successive crops of
corn and soybeans. As a matter of fact
Dr. Deen has said, “If selling the straw
makes it economical to keep wheat in
the rotation, then grow wheat and sell
the straw!”
At a recent Soil Health Research
Forum in Guelph, Dr. Deen shared
the below economic assessment of
taking the long view on complex
rotations that include wheat and its
impacts on the rotational crops.
This analysis demonstrates a
greater benefit to the wheat in the
rotation than just the current price of
wheat. A $142.27 contribution per
acre and 100 bushels of wheat per
acre lowers the breakeven selling
price of wheat by $1.42 per bushel.
This approach requires a leap in faith
and is not something you can cash at
the bank – at least not right away.
Conclusion
Soil health is top of mind with
farmers, agri-businesses and govern-
ment policy makers.
Soil health is key to building
resiliency in agriculture to lessen the
impact of climate change, to mitigate
greenhouse gas emissions, sequester
carbon, and as a solution to reducing
nutrient losses and phosphorus
loading into surface waters.
There are many opinions on how
to improve soil health. The good
news is it is in our DNA as good
stewards of the land to continue the
improvement process, starting with
understanding soil organic matter
contributions. BF
Dale Cowan, CCA-ON, 4R NMS, is a senior
agronomist with AGRIS Co-operative Ltd.
and Wanstead Farmers Co-operative Ltd.
$/ac
4% increase in corn:
7 bu @$4.50/bu
$31.50
12% yield increase in
soybeans: 5.5 bu @ $12.50/bu
$68.75
Increased drought tolerance yield stability ??
Reduced N requirement:
26.4 lbs @ $0.55/lb
$14.52
Cover crop red clover
50 lbs N @ $0.55/lb
$27.50
Reduced tillage ??
Ability to sustainably
sell crop residue
??
Herbicide resistance
management
??
Total contribution fromwheat $142.27/ac
“If selling the strawmakes it economical to keep wheat in the rotation,
then grow wheat and sell the straw,” says Dr. Deen.
Matt_Gibson/iStock/Getty Images Plus photo