Economics of tillage practices and spring wheat and barley crop sequence in the Northern Great Plains

Our objective was to analyze economics of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cropping and tillage practices after 10 years of evaluation. We initiated the study in 1983 an a Dooley sandy loam (fine-loamy, mixed Typic Argiboroll) 11 km (7 mi) north of Culbertson, Montana. Annually cropped tillage treatments included sweep tillage infall with spring disking, sweep tillage in spring, and no-till. A conventional follow-crop rotation war included. Spring wheat yields ranged from 74 kg/ha (1.1 bulacre) to 3,465 kg/ha (51.5 bulacre). Net return was highest for no-till annually cropped wheat at $19.04/ha ($7.71/acre) and lowest for barley-spring wheat rotation at -$23.74/ha (-$9.61/acre). Under conditions of this 10-year study in a 356 mm (14 in.) precipitation zone, we conclude that annually cropped no-till wheat production was the most profitable cropping practice.