Double Cropping Field Peas with Cover Crops, Forages and Short Season Crops in Sub-Humid Climates

View the project final report

Commodities

• Agronomic: corn, millet, peas (field, cowpeas), sorghum (milo), sorghum sudangrass, soybeans, sunflower, forage sorghum, cover crops

Practices

• Crop Production: cover crops, cropping systems, crop rotation, double cropping, no-till
• Education and Training: extension
• Farm Business Management: budgets/cost and returns
• Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity, carbon sequestration
• Production Systems: dryland farming
• Soil Management: soil quality/health

Farmers throughout the Corn Belt may want to consider diversifying traditional corn and soybean based rotations to increase the agronomic sustainability and to spread financial risks associated with low market prices of corn and soybean. An alternative is a more diverse crop rotation using field pea (short season grain crop) followed by cover crops (FP-CC), forages (FP-F), or short season crops (FP-SC). Field peas are planted mid-March and harvested in early-July providing the window of opportunity to extend the growing season by double cropping. Potential benefits include reduced tillage, fertilizer and herbicide inputs, minimize soil erosion and compaction, increase the efficiency of cropping system water use, build up soil organic matter, suppress weeds and pests, and reduce nitrate leaching. The objectives of this project are to: (1) quantify the rotational costs and economic returns of FP-CC/F/SC as compared to corn-soybean rotation; and (2) evaluate soil nutrient dynamics, water use and total plant biomass provided by FP-CC/F/SC. This project will initially be conducted at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Southeast Research and Extension Center Nebraska. Following the first year of initial data collection, farmer collaborators who have been identified will initiate on-farm experiments to further validate and demonstrate double cropping using field peas participate during field days to showcase this research. At the conclusion of this project, farmers will be able to (1) identify the circumstances upon which replacing corn or soybean with FP-CC/F/SC will be economically viable and how using such a system can improve soil nutrient cycling and other ecosystem services; and (2) select best-suited cover crop, forage, or short season crop following field pea for double cropping to diversify their corn-soybean crop rotation and spread production risks.

Farmers will be able to: (1) identify the circumstances upon which replacing corn or soybean with FP-CC/F/SC will be economically viable and how using such a system can improve soil nutrient cycling and other ecosystem services; (2) select best-suited cover crop, forage, or short season crop following field pea for double cropping to diversify their corn-soybean crop rotation and spread production risks; and (3) improve their economic well-being, quality of life, and professional inquiry of issues related to environmental stewardship and long-term sustainability.