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Can Organic Cropping Systems be as Profitable as Conventional Systems?
April 07, 2009Which is a better strategy, specializing in one crop or diversified cropping? Is conventional cropping more profitable than organic farming? Is it less risky?
To answer these questions, the University of Wisconsin's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Michael Fields Agricultural Institute agronomists established the Wisconsin Integrated Cropping Systems Trial (WICST) in 1990. This research is funded by USDA-ARS.
Systems ranging from species-diverse pasture and organic systems to more specialized conventional alfalfa-based forage and corn-based grain systems were compared at two sites in southern Wisconsin from 1993 to 2006.
Crop production analysis was published in the 2008 March-April issue of Agronomy Journal while this companion article focuses on the net returns and associated risk exposure of these systems. Full research results from this current study are presented by Chavas et al. in the 2009 March-April issue of Agronomy Journal.
"In our study we found that diversified systems were more profitable than monocropping," explains Joshua Posner, University of Wisconsin.
With feed grade premiums the organic systems were more profitable than the Midwestern standards of continuous corn, no-till corn and soybeans, and intensively managed alfalfa.
Rotational grazing of dairy heifers was as profitable as the organic systems. And to our surprise, including risk premiums into the evaluation did not change the ranking of the systems. This study indicates that governmental policy that supports mono-culture systems is outdated and support should be shifted to programs that promote crop rotations and organic farming practices.
The American Society of Agronomy (ASA)
Crop production analysis was published in the 2008 March-April issue of Agronomy Journal while this companion article focuses on the net returns and associated risk exposure of these systems. Full research results from this current study are presented by Chavas et al. in the 2009 March-April issue of Agronomy Journal.
"In our study we found that diversified systems were more profitable than monocropping," explains Joshua Posner, University of Wisconsin.
With feed grade premiums the organic systems were more profitable than the Midwestern standards of continuous corn, no-till corn and soybeans, and intensively managed alfalfa.
Rotational grazing of dairy heifers was as profitable as the organic systems. And to our surprise, including risk premiums into the evaluation did not change the ranking of the systems. This study indicates that governmental policy that supports mono-culture systems is outdated and support should be shifted to programs that promote crop rotations and organic farming practices.
The American Society of Agronomy (ASA)
Organic corn: Increasing rotation complexity increases yields
While demand for organic meat and milk is increasing by about 20% per year in the United States, almost all organic grain and forage to support these industries in the mid-Atlantic region is imported from other regions. To meet this demand locally, area farmers need information on expected crop yields and effective management options.
Are Organic Crops as Productive as Conventional?
Can organic cropping systems be as productive as conventional systems? The answer is an unqualified, "Yes" for alfalfa or wheat and a qualified "Yes most of the time" for corn and soybeans according to research reported by scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and agricultural consulting firm AGSTAT in the March-April 2008 issue of Agronomy Journal.
Alternative farming cleans up water
Although the addition of nutrients to soil helps to maximize crop production, fertilizer can leach nutrients, polluting the water supply.
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Chemical characterization of soil phosphorus and organic matter in different cropping systems in Maine, U.S.A. [An article from: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment] by T. Ohno (Author), T.S. Griffin (Author), M. Liebman (Author), G.A. Porter (Author) This digital document is a journal article from Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, published by Elsevier in 2005. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser. Description: To minimize purchased inputs, sustainable agriculture systems often use green- or animal-manure as a nitrogen source for crops. The addition of these materials also have positive impacts on soil phosphorus (P) availability. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of animal- and legume-based cropping systems in place for 5-13 years on the chemistry of organic matter and soil P. Two cropping systems, Potato Ecosystem (ECO) located in Presque Isle, ME, U.S.A. and Grass Fertility (GF)... |
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Impact of land clearing methods and cropping systems on labile soil C and N pools in the humid zone Forest of Nigeria [An article from: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment] by I.K. Okore (Author), H. Tijani-Eniola (Author), A.A. Agboola (Author), Aiyela (Author) This digital document is a journal article from Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser. Description: Labile soil C and N play vital roles in soil-plant nutrient dynamics, especially in the low input cropping system and are vulnerable to perturbation. Surface (0-0.15m) soils from three land clearing methods (slash and burn, bulldozed non-windrowed and bulldozed windrowed) and each with two cropping systems (5-and 4-year cropping/2-year cassava fallow) were collected in the humid forest ecosystem of Nigeria. The soils were analysed for total C and N, microbial biomass C and N (SMB C and N),... |
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Long-term soil organic carbon dynamics in a subhumid tropical climate: ^1^3C data in mixed C"3/C"4 cropping and modeling with ROTHC [An article from: Soil Biology and Biochemistry] by J. Diels (Author), B. Vanlauwe (Author), M.K. Van der Meersch (Author), Sangi (Author) This digital document is a journal article from Soil Biology and Biochemistry, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser. Description: Scanty information on long-term soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics hampers validation of SOC models in the tropics. We observed SOC content changes in a 16-year continuously cropped agroforestry experiment in Ibadan, south-western Nigeria. SOC levels declined in all treatments. The decline was most pronounced in the no-tree control treatments with continuous maize and cowpea cropping, where SOC levels dropped from the initial 15.4 to 7.3-8.0MgCha^-^1 in the 0-12 cm topsoil in 16 years. In the two... |
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