Tillage and soybean yields

If you're nervous switching to no-till or minimum tillage for fear you'll lose soybean yields, new data should help calm those nerves. Especially with today's rising diesel fuel costs, making the switch to a minimum tillage system should net you more profit per acre of soybeans you raise, according to Iowa State University (ISU) Extension agronomist Mahdi Al-Kaisi.

Almost a decade's worth of studies conducted at different locations around the state of Iowa in different crop rotations (corn-soybeans, corn-corn-soybeans and continuous corn) show that there's no real correlation between soybean yield and tillage system. "Nine years of results from long-term tillage and crop rotations studies in Iowa showed that regardless of tillage system or crop rotation, soybean yields are not affected by tillage system.

This is encouraging news for producers who are reluctant to switch to no-tillage soybean after corn due to concerns of poor crop performance," Al-Kaisi says in a recent report. "With current increases in diesel fuel prices, some growers could save costs by minimizing tillage passes before planting soybeans." Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine from Perendale Publishers.