An Analysis of the Economic Effects of Cover Crop Use on Farm Net Returns per Acre in Central Indiana
Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
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Sustainability 2020, 12(12), 5104; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12125104
Received: 4 June 2020 / Revised: 19 June 2020 / Accepted: 22 June 2020 / Published: 23 June 2020
(This article belongs to the Section Sustainable Agriculture)
Utilizing cover crop treatments can have significant agronomic benefits for a farm enterprise. However, implementing this technology introduces additional costs. Data were obtained from a Central Indiana case farm to evaluate the relationship between applied nitrogen and corn yield, and how this relationship is impacted by introducing three different species of cover crops: annual ryegrass, cereal rye, and an oats and radish blend. The resulting information was then translated into a partial budget so that the effects on net returns could be analyzed using historical prices and stochastic modelling. The results showed that the impact on net returns per acre varied among cover crop species. The implementation of annual ryegrass resulted in a negative change to net returns. Conversely, implementing cereal rye or an oats and radish blend resulted in a positive change to net returns, with the largest net benefits accruing to the oats and radish blend.
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Keywords:
cover crops; net returns; partial budget; Indiana; cereal rye; annual rye; oats and radish
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MDPI and ACS Style
Hughes, M.N.; Langemeier, M.R. An Analysis of the Economic Effects of Cover Crop Use on Farm Net Returns per Acre in Central Indiana. Sustainability 2020, 12, 5104. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12125104
AMA Style
Hughes MN, Langemeier MR. An Analysis of the Economic Effects of Cover Crop Use on Farm Net Returns per Acre in Central Indiana. Sustainability. 2020; 12(12):5104. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12125104
Chicago/Turabian StyleHughes, Megan N., and Michael R. Langemeier 2020. "An Analysis of the Economic Effects of Cover Crop Use on Farm Net Returns per Acre in Central Indiana" Sustainability 12, no. 12: 5104. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12125104
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