Corn and soybean planting order decisions impact farm gross revenue

Abstract

The inter‐annual corn‐soybean rotation field is a well‐known management practice that increases the yield of both crops across the midwestern US. Each spring, farmers must decide which crop will be planted first. Prioritizing planting of one crop can delay planting of the other which can result in substantial yield loss and reduced associated revenue. The objective of this work was to assess how gross farm revenue (corn + soybean acres) can be affected by crop planting order (corn first, soybean second and vice versa). The impact of variable planting dates on the yield of each crop was simulated for 310 fields across the US. Gross farm revenue was estimated as a function of crop planting date, order, input costs and crop prices. In a randomly chosen field in south central Wisconsin, 1 out of the 310, delaying planting after May 1st reduced yield of each crop and subsequently suppressed gross farm revenue. Crop planting order determined farm revenue due to a variable loss in per day yield rate within the nominal planting timeframe associated with the two crops. Additionally, the degree to which management was intensified for each crop relative to crop yield potential accruing with earlier planting, varied by state, and further impacted farm revenue. Overall results suggest that to determine planting order US farmers need to be aware of the comparative yield trends associated with delayed planting of corn vs. soybean for their specific farms and cropping systems and should also account for projected crop selling prices.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

From a point to a range of optimum estimates for maize plant density and nitrogen rate recommendations

“…In 2019, the region of 99% of maximum revenue contained lower N rates and plant densities than in 2020 (Figure 7). Grain yield may not have reached its potential in 2019, therefore, potentially diminishing the yield response to N rate per planting density, as maize was not planted until June 4, 2019, due to weather conditions (Table 1), which is exceptionally late for Iowa (about 3 weeks past optimal window; Baum et al, 2019Baum et al, , 2020Mourtzinis & Conley, 2023).…”

Crop management recommendations: Agroptimizer decision support tool vs. local experts

“…Additionally, when considering the varying production costs among farms (e.g., seed and fertilizer costs, etc. ), and the myriad of decisions a farmer must make before and during each growing season (Mourtzinis & Conley, 2023) the combined effect of all the above can substantially affect gross farm revenue. Clearly, identifying the cropping system for maximum profit under such uncertainty is a very difficult task.…”