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An economic comparison of conventional and reduced-chemical farming systems in Iowa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2009

Craig Chase  and
Michael Duffy
Craig Chase
Affiliation:
Extension Associate, Department of Economics, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011.
Michael Duffy
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011.
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Abstract

Labor requirements, production costs, yields, and economic returns were evaluated for conventional and reduced-chemical cropping systems in northeast Iowa from 1978 to 1989. Continuous corn (C-C) and corn-soybean (C-Sb) rotations represented the conventional system; a corn-oat-meadow (C-O-M) rotation represented the reducedchemical system. The C-C and C-Sb rotations used both commercial pesticides and fertilizers. The C-O-M rotation used manure for fertilization and applied pesticides only in emergencies. Operations for all systems were implemented by one farm manager. The C-Sb rotation had the highest corn yield over the 12-year period, and the C-O-M rotation the lowest. The corn within the C-O-M rotation, however, produced the second highest average return to land, labor, and management. With costs of production substantially lower than the conventional systems, the C-O-M corn crop had competitive returns despite lower yield. The C-Sb average return to land, labor, and management was significantly higher than for the other systems. Hourly labor charges of $4, $10, $20, and $50 had little effect on the rankings of economic returns. Because of unusually high alfalfa reseeding costs and low average oat yields, returns to the C-O-M rotation were significantly lower than C-Sb but comparable to C-C. With better alfalfa establishment and higher average oat yields, the reduced-chemical system might have been competitive with the C-Sb conventional system.

Keywords

conventional systemsreduced-chemical systemsagricultural profitabilityeconomic returnslabor requirementsproduction cost comparisons
Type
Articles
Information
American Journal of Alternative Agriculture , Volume 6 , Issue 4 , December 1991 , pp. 168 - 173
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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