Conservation tillage and ley farming in the semi-arid tropics of northern Australia - Some economic aspects

This paper examines some aspects of the economics of conservation tillage and ley farming in the semi-arid tropics of northern Australia. The distribution, value and major trends in the enterprises comprising the agricultural sector of the semi-arid tropics are discussed in an industry context. The likely economic benefits for the farmer from the adoption of conservation tillage and ley farming come from mulch retention and increased yields. These benefits vary with the frequency of grain cropping, the legume species used and the commodity price relativities. The benefits are likely to be larger in drier growing seasons. Data on other factors, such as soil type and seasons, were inadequate for economic analysis. Some ley fanning systems are more profitable than single enterprises in the short term. In the long term, the best choice for sustainable fanning systems in the semi-arid tropics appears to be a legume pasture system or a legume pasture-crop system. Results to date from ley farming studies show that experimental designs need to be modified to incorporate higher cropping frequencies and more comprehensive joint product measures in order to allow a more critical economic assessment. Additional benefits to society from the adoption of conservation tillage and ley farming are likely to come from minimising adverse on-farm and off-farm effects of agricultural activities. There are strong arguments for continuing support for research and development in ley farming technology and a joint sharing of the costs between farmers and the community generally.